It's football season, and you can now get almost anything you need for game day delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by "almost"? Well, you can't get a running back delivered, but you can get baby-back ribs delivered. A strong defense? No. A strong deodorant? Yes. The six pack of abs? Nope. Six pack of beer? Yes. Get almost, almost anything for game day delivered with Uber Eats. Official on-demand food delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Anyone plus and in select cities, product availability varies by region. See app for details. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Tip of the Iceberg podcast, Your Home for Pittsburgh, Penguins, News and Analysis. You can find us on YouTube at Tip of the Iceberg. Make sure you like, share, subscribe, all that fun stuff, or you can find us anywhere you get your podcast from. Great show for you guys today as we get you set for tomorrow's opening night matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers. It's almost here, Horrell. We watched seven, count 'em, seven preseason games to get to this point, but now it is game one of 82. We got plenty of hockey to watch over the next six months. So what we're going to do in today's episode is, well, we have our 22,000. 2425 NHL league predictions. That's how we're going to close out the show, but before that, we'll talk to you about our biggest takeaways from Penguins training camp and we'll also be joined by the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins newcomer to the city of Pittsburgh. Joe Brand, we are very excited for you to check out that interview and sit down that we had with him, but let's get started and let's kick things off with our biggest takeaway. Before we send it over to Joe Brand, Horrell, I want to know what is your biggest takeaway from the last three weeks? Like we mentioned, seven preseason games, copious amounts of practice, sin, some injuries, some young stars that were rising up the ranks. What were your takeaways from Penguins training camp in 2024? I'm a biggest takeaway surround, like you mentioned that those young stars, A, rising up the ranks and B, one of them, uh, making the team, another one almost making. I don't think I didn't expect Harrison Bruning to actually make the team, but the fact that he's stuck around for so long, um, shows that the Penguins are starting to, I mean, really give these youngsters a chance, give these young up-and-comers in Rucker McGrody actually letting him start in the NHL lineup and Kyle Dubas said, uh, if he wasn't going to play, he wouldn't be in the NHL roster. So that shows you that even if Brian Rust is hurt, so be it that, uh, the Penguins are giving chances to these young faces or not kind of filling in with veterans who have any gel experience or, uh, whenever I say veterans, I do mean, like, just a couple seasons, couple games here and there. They're letting the young kids go, they're letting them, they're giving them a pretty long leash. Like I said, Rucker's getting in the NHL lineup, Harrison Bruning was up for quite a while. Old Pickering was up for quite a while for what it's worth, um, and just some of the other big names that, I mean, Kyle Dubas is here to build a future now. You know that he obviously has the task of trying to win now with the, and he crawls being up getting him all in the era in his last couple of years, but, I mean, one thing that is certain, Kyle Dubas' contract lasts longer than any of the core members. So he's a face that'll still be here and he needs to manage a team that should still try and be successful and given the push that he's giving these young guys already, they're, they're really putting something, they're really, uh, what's it called? Investing in the future. Yeah. It's starting right now. Or where it should have started, you know, probably in the Jim Rutherford era, but probably should have started then, but hey, better late than never. And for what it's worth now is the best pot, best possible time to do it after what would have been Jim Rutherford's last couple of seasons. Yeah, there's no time like the president to start preparing for the future if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins, but we were this close. We were this close to getting a 20 year old and an 18 year old in the Penguins lineup. But unfortunately, we're just going to have to settle to the 20 year old, which again, I got to look this up and I could do this for tomorrow's live stream. When was the last time there was anybody under the age of 21 in the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup? Because it has been a very, very long time. I would have to imagine. So I'm going to, I'm going to assign myself that little homework unless you have a name off the top of your head that you can think of. I feel like Ole Moda is probably around then because he came in and had that nine game sample and then stuck around. So we'll have to go and do a little bit of research for that one. Yeah, Moda's up there. I'm trying to just remember how old anyone was and ever they made just like a game appearance. Yeah, because I mean like Brian Rust came through college. So he wasn't that young. Jake Genssel came through college and then also had some experience at the AHL level. So we'll have to, we'll have to do that homework assignment. We won't try to talk through it at this point, but Daniel Sproung was 18. Daniel Sproung was 18? That's probably at that. That's probably, maybe not the most recent, but that's definitely named because Sam Poulan was 21. Daniel Sproung was 18 with 18 games of experience, then got a year off and came back for eight more at the age of 20. Yeah. Fascinating starts his career. It's good to see he's leveled out a little bit. Yeah. And then he was exchanged for Marcus Pedersen who was obviously talked about a lot yesterday in Kyle Dubas's press conference. But let me give you my biggest takeaway and then we'll send it over to Joe. We won't continue to delay because I think that is a fantastic interview and a fantastic person. Also, we're very excited about our conversation with Joe, but my biggest takeaway is the penguin's bottom six. And after watching preseason, once again, highlight it, bold, italicized, underlined after watching preseason, it feels as if there's a higher floor, a much higher ceiling, but a little bit less certainty about what you're going to get about this Pittsburgh penguin's bottom six this year. I mean, just as far as why I feel that way. Look at the conversations we've been having surrounding who makes the roster. Last year we were talking about, well, Redeem's a horn is very good in training camp. Well, Vinny Hinnestroza was playing on the first line. Well, Janssen Harkins, he came over and he's looked pretty good, even though we know he's never really succeeded in the NHL level. He's been really good at the AHL level. This year, you're talking about a handful of guys that have found some success at the NHL level. Yes, a pull. You're a chief among them who is a guy who has produced at a pretty high level at the National Hockey League talking about Kevin Hayes, a guy who has scored 50 points in the National Hockey League at one point. And then you're talking about younger guys, guys that, like I mentioned, a little bit less certainty about what they're going to give you in their new roles, a Rucker McGruder at age 20, what is Valtteri posted and looked like in year two with a bulk majority of the time being spent at the NHL level, a guy like Cody Glass, who was called out, not called out, but who was brought up by Kyle Dubas yesterday when talking about this group. I just think that there's a lot better depth. It's not the fact that they have more depth than they did last year because there were a lot of names last year, but I don't think that all of those names had as high of a ceiling as the names have this year. I think there's a little bit more excitement, a little bit less certainty, but certainly a much higher ceiling. Absolutely. There's a much higher ceiling. I think last year it felt like there was improvements being made. It felt like there was more options, but that was for all those guys, like you said, that needed to prove themselves at the NHL level. It was for Team Zorno, it was Janssen Harkins, it was, I know I'm forgetting a name or two, but it was AHL guys, it was guys that you could see them score a bunch at the AHL level and maybe that earns them a chance at the NHL, for sure it does, and we will continue to stand by. Janssen Harkins earned his spot in the NHL lineup through his preseason games after getting claimed off of waivers, but clearly didn't translate. At least this time around, you know, Paul Yarbys got NHL experience, you know, Cody Glass is NHL experience. You know, Kevin Hayes is a laundry list of NHL experience, he's got a resume. This feels a bit different, it's, these are proven names, these are proven faces that the only concern now is the chemistry there, and that's what needs to be worked on and that's what we'll be seeing because, again, preseason isn't the greatest tell, but I'll tell you what, starting right away against the New York Rangers Night One, it's a great way to discover if you have the right chemistry with these right guys. Not only starting the season on Night One with the New York Rangers, but starting at a back-to-back, really testing, you know, making sure that your entire lineup in a back-to-back needs to be as one unit cohesive, so we'll see that on Wednesday and Thursday because Thursday they take on the Detroit Red Wings, but I think the one thing that you can say about this group is it's not going to be as rock solid defensively as it was last season, but there's certainly higher offensive upside and that sentiment was echoed by Kyle Dubas yesterday when he was asked about this group saying, quote, "We want to get away from the pure bottom six have to defend. We need to score in that group. We need to defend our ass off with that group. Don't get me wrong, but we need guys who are able to produce." And I think that's what they went out and gotten, especially a guy like Yesopul Jorvi. He had obviously a tremendous training camp, a tremendous preseason. Can he make that translate to the national hockey league level in the regular season this year and now that he is an extra year removed from that double hip resurfacing surgery? So that was my biggest takeaway. I think obviously you can talk about the power play. I think that's another big one because we saw material changes when it comes to the scheme of the Penguins power play, but the bottom six to me was something that jumped off the page, especially if you watch the preseason finale where they scored, I believe, five or six goals. Yeah, it's starting to get that going. This is going to be huge. That was the main reason if you really wanted to pick a main reason why the Penguins missed the playoffs last year. So pulling that in the gear, putting that together and finding the correct, again, there's not so much chemistry you have to work on with the power play, but just learning each other's ins and outs and facilitating the right plays and shooting the damn thing. And then progress should be made there and I'll tell you what, take a step in the right direction already. All righty, we're going to take a quick break. When we return, we'll be joined by Joe Brand, the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's football season and you can now get almost anything you need for game day delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a running back delivered, but you can get baby back ribs delivered. A strong defense? No, a strong deodorant. Yes. The six pack of abs? Nope. Six pack of beer? Yes. Get almost, almost anything for game day delivered with Uber Eats. Official on demand food delivery partner of the NFL order now alcohol 21 plus and in select cities, product availability varies by region. See app for details. Welcome back to the tip of the iceberg podcast your home for Pittsburgh Penguins news and analysis. We are joined today by a very special guest. You can hear him calling penguins games this season on 105 nine the X. He's a Chicago native that might be trading in his deep dish pizza for some per man. He's sandwich. He's he is the voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins radio network. Welcome onto the show. Joe Brand man, that introduction is one of a kind, definitely one I have not gotten yet. Thanks for having me fellas thrilled to be here. It's been really cool to get acquainted with the Pittsburgh Penguins fan base already in all so much attention on the team on a constant basis because of hardworking guys like yourselves. It's pretty cool to be a part of. So I'm thrilled to be here. Yeah, we're excited for you. We're excited to hear your calls this year because you look at Pittsburgh. There's a long lineage of hosts and play by play announcers that end up in the annals of history. I mean, the Myron copes, the Mike Langs, which you already probably have extensive history on being up on the Mike Lang media level, but we're excited for you to etch your name and history here over the next several seasons. Well, I appreciate the high praise, but one thing at a time, pre-season games under my belt still got to get two more, but yeah, man, I mean, that's a huge part of this. My dream has always been to do play by play, to be the voice of a team and to get it with the Pittsburgh Penguins is something I almost could never have dreamed of. And that's because of all the people that you just mentioned and the fan base that I'm honored to kind of be somewhat of a spokesman for and just a passionate group of sports fans that live and die with the black and gold. It's a very special thing to be a part of and I definitely don't take it for granted for sure. Now, before we continue with your early time in Pittsburgh, I want to go back to Chicago because as someone who grew up in the Chicago area, you spent nearly a decade calling high school games, college games, various different sports. What was it like when you first got the call to become a studio host and a fill in play by play voice for the Chicago Blackhawks? That was a big moment for me. I appreciate you asking about it because, you know, this is such a grueling business in a tough industry and it's very competitive and you just go with the opportunities, however you can get them. And I had been at WGN radio since graduating college. I started as an intern, then worked as a part-time producer, then I was producing Blackhawks games, then I was reporting Blackhawks games, then I was co-hosting a podcast and everything I did was working towards being in a booth and that's why being at WGN radio was so useful for me because when I first got there, we had the Cubs and the Blackhawks, along with the Northwestern Wildcats, eventually it just ended up being the Wildcats and the Blackhawks. But I always knew that there was a possibility, an opportunity to kind of wiggle my way in there. And after doing some co-hosting on the podcast for the Hawks, some weekend sports updates, I actually filled in on some White Sox pre and post games because we had the Sox at the time. I was just always setting myself up to help my chances of getting in a booth. Now while doing all that, I was, like you said, freelancing play by play, calling college, calling high school, calling a lot of minor league baseball because I always wanted to do play by play. So getting that pre and post gig with the Hawks was big because another thing is one of the guys, one of my predecessors, Judd Sarat, he left that job to be the radio voice of the Boston Bruins. He's not the TV voice of the Boston Bruins. And a lot of guys that did pre and post with the Cubs, Corey Provis, Andy Maser, also Judd Sarat, they all went on to big league jobs. So I always knew it was possibly a stepping stone, but I also knew how valuable that spot would be just getting to cover Black Hawks games on a daily basis, getting to cover the team. And once I found my way into the play by play chair for a handful of games, that was quite the monumental moment of my career and definitely needed that type of experience to get this job where I landed today. Then keeping a Chicago for a moment, I know it's such a great sports town and I just want to get your opinion on the Black Hawks themselves just to get an idea of just where do you think that team is going in the near future? I mean, obviously Connor Badard coming in, but still a growing, still some growing pains to go through with him. Just what do you see the Black Hawks doing in the next couple of seasons, at least? Yeah, I mean, the last two years, I was focused a lot on the farm system, right? Because that's kind of the only way you can focus on at that time. But landing Connor Badard was definitely a jumpstart, a shot of adrenaline for everyone, especially just being so quickly removed from Patrick Kane leaving the team. There's a lot of upside with that organization for sure. I've really liked the things that Kyle Davidson has done. He's gone about it, in my opinion, the right way. He's being smart about it, even though they landed Connor Badard. He didn't really rush to build a team to make the playoffs right away. And I think that ended up being pretty valuable with the number two overall pick they got this past year, and Artem Levshnoff, a lot of good upside. And honestly, all this time kind of focusing on what Kyle Davidson has done, I mean, there are, I've said it before, I feel like there's a lot of parallels between Kyle Davidson and Kyle Dubas, the way they operate, the way they observe the game. They're kind of on the younger side of the GMs throughout the National Hockey League. I do think that both organizations benefit from something like that, because you kind of get the best of both worlds. But yeah, it's, I'm very excited to see where the Blackhawks will be in the next couple of years, but I'm more excited to see where the Penguins will be at this point. Now, you covered an 18 year old in year one last year in Badard. Now you're moving over to a guy going into year 20 in Sydney Crosby. How special is it to get to cover these stars on a daily basis? And I know it's early, it's only been like you mentioned, five preseason games, really only two full weeks of training camp. But what do you think the biggest difference has been when talking to uncovering these two stars at polar opposite ends of their careers? It's funny because these two weeks have opened my eyes so much coming from Chicago. There were a lot of comparisons with the Hawks and the Penguins because of the dynasties that kind of overlapped each other, the Taves Kane, Crosby, Mulcan similarities. And I mean, I kind of went about my hockey fandom thinking Taves and Crosby were like toe and toe, two of the best captains in National Hockey League, of course. But being here and seeing what Sydney Crosby means to this organization, the fan base, and just the town in general, I mean, all of that, you don't even have to bring up the recent extension he just signed. It's really remarkable what type of figure he is. And not even just for the Pittsburgh Penguins as him now, but throughout their entire history. And by the way, Mario Lemieux is part of this organization as well in its history too. It's really remarkable. It's stunning to see what he means to this fan base, the organization, the franchise. So it's really opened my eyes to see how special of a guy he really is. And the cool thing about it is, when Connor Baddard was drafted by the Hawks, he was very true to himself, very unique, always talked about his game, not trying to model anyone. But his favorite player growing up, his idol, is Sydney Crosby. And now seeing Sydney Crosby operate on a daily basis, you understand why Connor Baddard is also such a student of the game, and just such a stoic, mature personality at 18 years old, because I think he's just been modeling absolutely everything from Sydney Crosby. So it's kind of cool, because I knew what Crosby was, but I didn't get to see him on a daily basis. Then I see the early version of it with Connor Baddard first coming into the league. And now I actually get to witness firsthand what Sydney Crosby is to the Pittsburgh Penguins. So I'm pretty lucky that I've been able to cover all those stars. And beyond moving from one team to another, which is just a transition in itself, just how has your transition gone? I feel like you're learning on the fly almost with a whole new team of players, plus its preseason. So there's a bunch of other names on top of all the new names you have to work with. I mean, did you also know any or have any run ins with some of the people in the booth that you're now coworkers with before? Yeah, yeah. Some of those things have been pretty cool. We've only gone to Detroit, Buffalo, and actually ran into the guys from Ottawa over in Sudbury. So that was cool. And I always knew these people. I'd always listened to them. But it is one of my favorite things now before a game to run over to the other booth and introduce myself and just say, hey, I've listened to you for a while and I picked up some things. So I appreciate that. I haven't even gotten to the places that I've already been at, where I can catch up with those guys. But I've got a big baseball background, too. And I've had a decent relationship with Joe Block over the last couple of years. And I would send him my tape and he would give me great feedback and great constructive criticism. That helped me a lot with my confidence. So that was kind of a full circle moment to tell him that I landed this job. He's a huge Penguins fan, even before he got the Pittsburgh Pirates job. And just a great human overall, he invited me to the ballpark. Let me go on the field. I got to go up to the booth. They were playing the Brewers at the time. I've known Jeff Levering now over the past couple of years. So I got reunited with him. It's definitely a cool aspect of the job that I knew would be a part of it. But when you go for this, when you apply and you go through the interviews, you're not thinking about the end goal. You're just thinking about what can I do to help my chances at this point. But that has been, it's been very satisfying. It's been very full circle. It's just all really cool. I'm trying to soak it in because it still has that new job smell and I'm really enjoying it. You mentioned going from booth to booth. The one guy that we talked about a little bit before going live on here was Phil Bork, somebody who's going to be in your booth night in and night out. What has it been like working with Borky early and kind of getting that rapport with the old two nine or somebody who has really just been, you know, you talk about voices of the penguins. This is how he's been around for a long time and is beloved by a lot of the fan base. So what have your early experience has been with the old two nine or kind of like Sydney Crosby where it's an example of I've heard about the impact. I know how great they are at their job and how great they are as a person, but getting to witness it firsthand and experience and work with him firsthand. It just opens your eyes to why people love him. I read his book during the interview process and the first time I met him, I'm like, I feel like I've known you for years now because you're just so forthcoming, so authentic in your book and that's exactly who he is as a person. But I think that's why he's attached to fans so much. He's critical of the team, but he's not harsh on the team. He's fair and yeah, he'll he'll speak his mind when somebody screws up, but he's the biggest cheerleader when a penguin player does something right. And honestly, that just kind of gives me more adrenaline in the booth because I'm excited already because of the job. I'm even more excited because he's excited. So I'm really enjoying the I don't want to call it chemistry just yet. I feel like that's other people's opinion to label a chemistry. I'm just really enjoying the vibe I'm getting with Borky so far. It's funny during the process, I was asked what makes a great color commentator and I'm kind of thinking at the time, I'm like, why are they asking me this? Like, I don't make that higher, I don't make that decision. What does it matter what I think and I didn't have a great answer and the more I thought about it, I'm like, I guess a great teammate makes a good color commentator or a great coach and I truly feel like Borky is both those things. I mean, that's why he was such a beloved teammate on those cup teams. That's why he's stuck around for so long in the booth just because he thinks the game like, I'm sorry, he thinks the game like a player. He kind of observes the game like a coach, but then he feels the game like a fan and he just puts all those things together to make the perfect color commentator and I'm really lucky to have him in the booth with me because I can lean on him for so many things. He's just a great personality to be around too and I can't wait to hear more of what comes from you guys. But, you know, going forward, you may be new here, but can you already feel, I don't want to say the tension but the expectations that this team is putting on themselves given the last two seasons and just that hunger for so much more. I totally can, especially because, I mean, I covered the Buddy Robinson game that ended the Penguin season two years ago and I remember, you know, doing that post-game show and thinking about like, wow, that's pretty amazing that not since what Crosby's first year, he had not made the playoffs and that was the next time and I remember watching the race towards the end of the last regular season, you know, it wasn't until the final day that the Penguins weren't able to get in and now covering the team, being in the dressing room after practices and morning skates, I'll kind of sit back during the scrums. I won't get in there and ask questions, you know, kind of like I did with my previous role, but the Blackhawks, I'll have more of a one-on-one with some players if I can if they feel, you know, I feel like they're comfortable for that in that moment. But I hear, you know, all the questions and what the players' attitudes are like and a lot of the questions revolve around making the playoffs and getting past what has gone wrong over the past couple of years and you hear the frustration in the players' voices, you totally do, and it's cool because these last couple of years covering the Blackhawks, they've had to talk about losing games and not going to the playoffs, but as an expectation and now these players are coming into this year on the Penguins with a chip on their shoulder, the expectation to make the playoffs and I mean hockey is such an emotional, momentous game. So much of the team's demise last year that I feel was the slow start and the rough start, especially on the power play, Jasky Getzoff brought up, you know, their power play was, for lack of better words, kind of atrocious in the first third of the season. If they just capitalize on a few of those games, all of a sudden you're talking about a comfortable playoff run, I should say a comfortable playoff entry. Now I get it, it's hockey, there's no excuses, you can't base your year on what it could have should have, but power play has looked good in the pre-season, I noticed they didn't score against Detroit last night on the man advantage but a million good looks, and it just seemed like more composure, so I feel like David Quinn's already doing a good job of implementing just some structure and just maybe some new ideas and it seems like the team is responding well to that, but yeah, I'm already feeling that from the players, clearly I'm feeling it from the fan base, but it's just kind of making me really want to scratch that itch for opening night against the Rangers. Now one of the highlights of your first two weeks here in training camp is the fact that there is a ton of competition at this year's camp. I mean more so than in recent memory, more so than I can even remember. The question that I have for you is who among those competitions has really stood out and kind of taking charge of their opportunity that is here in Pittsburgh? Well I know Harrison Brunick's the easy answer after that game against Detroit. That was really exciting to see, but I know he's a bit on the younger side so we might have to pump the brakes a little bit on his expectations, but the fact that he came into this pre-season ready to go and ready to perform and clearly the coaching staff is being receptive to all that. I do really like though kind of the reclamation projects that Kyle Dubas has brought in with a lot of these guys. I don't mean that in a negative way for a lot of these players, but sometimes the scene change can do a whole bunch of good and this does seem and feel like a team that can really develop a lot of good chemistry, good camaraderie if they get off to a good start because the leadership core is there, they know how to win and if they can get off to a good start I feel like that would provide a good foundation for the team. No, that doesn't mean if they don't get off to a good start, no are we counting another post-season less year, I don't want to jump to that conclusion. The Cody Glass, Anthony Beauvillais, Kevin Hayes, Matt Grizzlyk, I mean these are all guys that know they can win, have a bit of a chip on their shoulder to show what they can do, especially Anthony Beauvillais who I saw for a little bit in Chicago, he's got talent, he's got skill, I'm sure it's going to be more of Drew O'Connor on Sydney Crosby's line than him, but he's been floated on that top line with Crosby in the preseason, things have looked kind of good there, but I appreciate that because that's what I like about what Kyle Dubas has done, he's given a real unique situation here with trying to revive this organization back into the playoffs with the winning core that has all those Stanley Cups, but also trying to be creative and free agency and with trade, so I do think that those moves with those guys that I brought up could be the perfect fit, again could be, but it just, it makes sense that that's the way his thinking is gone, because you gotta think outside the box in the NHL, it's a very copycat league, everyone can't just rebuild right away because everyone's not going to win the Stanley Cup the same year, so I appreciate Kyle Dubas's approach to all of this with, again, kind of, kind of showing his philosophy being in the NHL, being forward thinking, but respecting the history with what has gone well with this organization in the past. Well you can hear him on 105-9 the X calling all the Pittsburgh Penguins games this season, Joe Brand, thank you so much for joining the show. Hey guys, thank you very much for the patience, I appreciate you being able to handle all my technical difficulties, thanks for having me, let me jump on whenever, I'd be happy to talk pens with you guys, and yeah, I just really want to thank the fan base for being so welcoming, so accommodating, it's been really, really cool and definitely feel the love already here in Pittsburgh, so I appreciate it all. One last time, Joe Brand of 105-9 the X, Voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network. One last thank you goes out to Joe Brand again, play-by-play, Voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins on the Penguins Radio Network, for what I really enjoyed that conversation, and this is a guy that comes in, born and bred, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago native, now he's coming to Pittsburgh, and I think he's going to, obviously he talked about Phil Bork, I think he's going to kill it because I think that he's a guy that would be easy to have chemistry with and we talked about Borky, it's like butter, whenever you put a play-by-play announcer with Borky, they just automatically mesh because that's the type of guy the old two-niner is. Yeah, he seems like a great person to be around, can't wait to meet him a couple of times if possible, and just, can't wait to hear some calls if I'm able to catch some radio games. It was an awesome interview, he seems like an awesome person, Phil Borky is just... He's that dude. He's that exact. That was the exact words I was looking for, he's that guy, he's that dude, and it should be a ton of fun for those two, it should be a good season for fans to listen to those two, and obviously not forgetting how the TV system plays out with Getzoff, and I believe another unless Rob Ross tweeted something yesterday about... Yeah, there's a lot of in-studio guys, I know Craig Patrick is joining the desk, I know Max Talbot is joining the desk, Tyler Kennedy is joining the desk, and I know TK was one of your favorites growing up, so it'll be cool to get his insight as well as Bugsy Malone, who started it last year, is back for another season, and might get a little bit more. But obviously, you include guys like Jay, Matt Barkowski, who I thought was pretty good last year. Everyone's are stacked when it comes to the broadcast, and fans are obviously very fortunate to have this type of stacked lineup when it comes to their viewing pleasure. But let's close out this show with our 2024-25 NHL League Predictions, I understand we're two games into this thing already, the New Jersey Devils are 2-0, just saying, I said they were going to be good this year, they're undefeated. They are number one in the National Hockey League right now, so you know, small victory lap here, two games into the season for them, and zero games in for the other 30 teams, but let's kick off our league predictions with the Calder Trophy, a lot of names, and we've talked about it, maybe Rucker McGrory gets his name thrown into the hat for this one, Horwatt, who you've taken for Rookie of the Year in 2024-25. I tried to have some fun answers, because there's going to be a lot of run-of-the-mill for all of these. A lot of people are going to say Mitch Goss, so I'm going to try and have some fun with the Calder, and say Lane Hudson with Montreal. A defenseman, so it's a little tougher, and I don't expect the Montreal Canadiens to make the playoffs or anything, but I love what that team is doing in terms of growing a young group into NHL stardom. Losing Patrick Leine, for a couple of months, hurts their growth in terms of getting guys acclimated with the real NHL star, but they're going to be stars in their own right each and every one of them one day, Lane Hudson's chief among them, and I could see him. I mean, Elliot Freeman already said before that his teammates are telling everyone to watch what Lane Hudson can do. So yeah, that is obviously pumping your teammates' tires, but also from the couple of NHL games of experience he already has looked very, very good, and now he's going to have the full year under him. It could be something special, and especially if the Canadiens are just playing fast and loose hockey, they don't have much to lose. They are in a growing year still, and he could just pop off for, I'm not going to put numbers in it, but he could pop off for an incredible season from a rookie defenseman no less. Yeah, we saw a rookie defenseman kind of surprise everybody last year when it comes to Brock Faber, and he got his name into that finalist circle. So maybe a year two, back-to-back years, we got a defenseman up and in there. I'm going to go with Mitch Kove. I have to. I mean, I tried, and I understand. I'll be doing the same exact thing that you're doing for a couple of these other awards, but I was looking around and was like, "Okay, maybe Celebrini, maybe Will Smith. Maybe I do throw in Rucker McGurty, but at the end of the day, I feel like Motvay Mitch Kove has the opportunity to be a superstar in year one for the Philadelphia Flyers. I mean, we saw it last year with Conor Badard. He was a superstar for the Chicago Blackhawks, and honestly, him winning the Calder would have been by a much wider margin if he hadn't gotten hurt and missed a dozen-plus games last year. If Mitch Kove stays healthy, I think Mitch Kove has a similar season to what Conor Badard had, which it pains me to say, but I think the Philadelphia Flyers have a really, really bonafide stud in Motvay Mitch Kove. Let's jump over to Rocket Rashard, and this is one that I had a little bit of fun with. Obviously, last year, Austin Matthews absolutely lit the world on fire, but sometimes after a season like that, players tend to kind of fall back to the pack a little bit because they were so automatic one year. It's hard to duplicate something like that. If there's anybody that can, I'll say it's probably Austin Matthews, but I'm going with the fun answer on this one. I'm going with a long shot on this one. It's because I like what Barry Trotts did down in Nashville. This guy finished sixth in total goals last year. I'm going to say Philip Forsberg goes out and has a tremendous season, and it's not just because I really liked his episode on Inside the NHL. There's the key. That is a, that is a fun one. Whenever you said Nashville, my mind immediately went to Samco's. He's done it before. Samco's? Yeah. It also goes to show just how fun that team is going to be this year by the way. Marsha so? I completely forgot they went out and got Jonathan Marsha so too. Don't worry. We'll talk about them later. I like that pick. I don't totally hate it. That's an interesting, right long shot because I thought I had Matthews written down, crossed it out, and I thought the name I broke down was going to be a long shot, but that's because goal scoring is up in the NHL, and it's usually led by Matthews, McDavid, Drycido a little bit. It was a Vechkin for a long time, but he still might get 40 something, 42 this year to really stand alone. It's going to be another fascinating year for goal scoring, and I don't hate Forzburg. It's a fun answer. This league could also use someone new winning that damn thing, right? Well, yeah, outside of the guys that are just automatic goal scores that seemingly can just skate across the blue line, rip a shot, and have no prayer of anybody else stopping that fuck like Matthews, like Nikita Kucharov is up there and does crazy stuff like that. So who do you have for the rocket? I thought it was a long shot myself, but then I heard yours, but Nathan McKinnon, the reigning MVP award winner, I always have faith in the avalanche, maybe a little more than I should, but something about Nathan McKinnon coming off of his MVP season, the depth in Colorado isn't as good as it usually is until they get all their guys back, and it'll be up to him to sort of lead the charge. I mean, it usually is, but I'd say this season he pops off for a ton of goals. Maybe he touches that 60 mark, maybe it stays under 60, but 50 something with goal scoring going up 60 is not an obscene number to say anymore. Mm hmm. Yeah, the poison pill with Nathan McKinnon for goals is Mika Renton is a trigger guy, and those guys often play together. But again, I like Nathan McKinnon. I'm high on Nathan McKinnon going into this year. I don't know how anybody else. I don't know how anybody couldn't be high on Nathan McKinnon going into this season, and that's a good segue here because I have him winning the art Ross. I don't have him winning the rocket, but I think he'll lead the NHL in points this season. That's not, that's not bad. It's not a bad guess. I think I had, I think it, whenever you say, uh, Renton, I think I picked shows him to win the rocket one of these days. Yep. And that makes a lot of sense of transitioning over to Nathan McKinnon for the art Ross. I like that too. It's, again, coming off an MVP year and without a couple of stars in the lineup and with kind of a weak depth, he's going to take over. He's going to take over big time for that team because they got to go somewhere and someone's got a score on that team. Mm hmm. I mean, yeah, it'll be him and Renton and you know, obviously he'll kill him a car. There's a ton that can be said about that team. There's so many great players, but Nathan McKinnon's team, he'll be the one leading the way. For my art Ross, I wouldn't make David just because that really you're going to go anywhere else. Yeah. It's hard. Well, I mean, he didn't win it last year, right? And he put up crazy numbers and it was Nikita Kucharov that outdid him. I mean, I was looking down at that. That Tampa Bay team is very interesting because there was a couple of times I was like Kucharov maybe, uh, rocker Charlotte was like, Genssel with Kucharov, maybe, I don't know. It's hard. Well, it's hurt now. So he's hurt right now. Yes. Obviously. That Tampa team is going to be very interesting and maybe we'll get to them a little bit later, but I like the, I like the McDavid art Ross because, you know, this is a revenge year for Conor McDavid. He got as far as he's ever gotten last year. He got so close. Game seven of the Stanley Cup final and then just to fall short to an absolute wagon in the floor to Panthers is there's no shame in that, but I think that it's going to drive Conor McDavid to do some crazy things this year. So I had a hard time not picking him for the art Ross, but with that said, I think he picks up his fourth heart trophy this year. I think there's no other way I'm going in this season because I think the Oilers are going to be really good all year long. And I think Conor McDavid obviously is going to be the catalyst for everything. He's the straw that stirs the drink up there in Edmonton. And I think he's going to do it again for his fourth heart trophy of his career. Yep. Yep. Who else could it be when it comes to the heart trophy? It's coming off of last year. I have to finish the Amazon thing, so I haven't seen his episodes yet, but just from the previews I'm seeing, there's no way that man isn't putting up four points a night. There's just no way. Yeah, especially against the Penguins was the last couple of matchups between McDavid and the Penguins. I think the Penguins have lost like tended to each time it only at least it feels like that case of the Smith was in goal for one of them I remember. I just remember the 2022, 23 season that game was later in the year and you looked at me and you said, yep, this is it. They're cooked like this is, this is the low point of the, of the trio, the low point of this group. Yep. I remember Conor McDavid had a penalty shot against Casey to Smith and I thought that went exactly how you'd expect it to go. Yeah. It did. It did. So obviously we're expecting big things from McDavid. Do we expect the biggest thing for McDavid? We'll get to that in a second. So let's start with the Eastern Conference champions in the 2024-25 season. Horwatt, who do you have? I was hoping you wouldn't let me lead off. I have, I don't have a team right down for the East because I'm telling you, I'll try and find one as I talk and ramble for a minute. There are so many good teams in the East. There are none that stand out as the runaway in the West. You could probably pick a runaway maybe two and maybe I'll get goofy. But in the East, it's so many good playoff teams, but then a bunch of teams that struggled to get over the hump except for the fact that Panthers did it last year. I don't see the Panthers repeating. I don't see them making the Cup final just because they've done it two years in a row. Yeah. It's tough to make it three and they weren't the Tampa team that did it and Tampa got really good this off season, but they didn't even Tampa. Sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. You're good. Even Tampa got that with the COVID shortened season, the COVID playoffs, like they were mitigating circumstances that kind of changed everything surrounding Tampa making it three straight years. This would be three straight pure years for the Florida Panthers, which if they do it and win, I'd say makes them a more impressive dynasty or mini dynasty than what we saw from Tampa in the early 2020s. But again, that's a conversation for a different day. Sorry to cut you off. You're good. I just can't put my faith in most of these teams. I just can't. And I know who you're going to say, I think, for the East. So I'm going to try and switch it up as much as I can and say screw it. The Rangers see you're coming off of a president's trophy season. They didn't lose really anybody. And if their captain thinks this is the last day of season for him and two to three veterans, not so much the young guys, why not go all out? So give me the Rangers out of the East while I probably changed that answer tomorrow. Yeah, you mentioned a lot of good teams, but nobody that could run away. I think in the East, there's always been a lot of teams that are excellent in the regular season. And if you just watched the regular seasons over the last half decade, you'd say, man, those should always be Stanley Cup contenders. But there's a lot of teams that are great in the regular season and then just falter when the playoffs start. I mean, look at Carolina last year was the best and the closest they've gotten. They still didn't make the conference finals. Look at the New York Rangers are a perfect example. They are a team that just cannot. And I repeat, cannot get over the hump. It's literally getting to Washington Capitol levels, except there's just not one boogeyman in the closet for the New York Rangers, like the penguins were for the capitals. So I do think it's a little bit of a toss up once you get to the playoffs this year. And it's not because they're two and O already. It's because I want or I believe that it's due time for a metropolitan division team to get there. It's the first time since 2018, if it happens, I'm going to go with the New Jersey Devils. I'm high on them. And yeah, 2018, you have to think about it. But last two is the Florida Panthers, three previous were the Tampa Bay Lightning and the one previous was the Boston Bruins. So it's, you know, the capitals in 2018 and the penguins in 17 and 16, those are the last Metro teams to make it handy, handy kept along by the same two teams making it multiple years in a row. But yeah, that's five of those years were two teams. Yes. Great, too. State of hockey, apparently. State of no income tax. State might be under water soon. No, I'm kidding. Actually, wow. Everyone stays safe down there for real. Yes. Roodle. My mom lives down there and she's staying around for the second one. So really everyone stays safe down there. If you listen from down there, but and I don't mind the Devils either because the East could straight up be goofy. Yeah. Like it could just turn out some random team made the playoffs. Like, let's say the Sabres stumble their way in and that team gets hot all of a sudden. You never know. I mean, it could be it could. I just can't put my faith in the big dogs like the Leafs, like the Hurricanes, even like the Rangers for the most part. Yeah. How did I mention teams that falter in the playoffs had not mentioned the Toronto Maple Leafs? Exactly. Because we're just so used to it. Yeah. I just have the list of teams in front of me. I kept looking at the Leafs and going, no chance next. Death taxes and the Leafs losing in the playoffs are the three guarantees in life. Yeah. And not to continue bagging on the Leafs, but I just can't put, I just in good faith can't say they'll make the Cup final. I can't. And would I like to be proven wrong? No, honestly. I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing it to be completely honest, but again, that's personal preference and that's not belief because again, it's like the Penguins winning a playoff series right now. I won't believe it until I see it. Until I see the Leafs win, not one, but at least two playoff series, I'm never going to have any belief that they're going to win a Stanley Cup. But let's, we're getting a little long winded about the East. We'll have six months to talk about the Eastern Conference. So let's talk about the Western Conference a little bit. This one, you know, how much we talked about Conor McDavid, I don't need to get a long drawn out answer here. I think the West champs are the Edmonton Oilers. They most likely are. I like the Oilers pick. I had that written down until I changed it to get goofy. Um, yeah, no, not much more needs to be said about Edmonton. I will say this though, in the story I wrote for Breakaway on SI, where I tried to give a bold prediction for every team in the central division, I said that the national predators would be, yeah, I said the national predators would be in the Western Conference final. Ooh. And this is where I'm going to get goofy. I'm going to say they somehow beat the Oilers to make to the Stanley Cup final, giving me a New York Rangers, national predators, Stanley Cup final, so much fun actually to think about. Well, to be fair, I also thought about the predators because I like what they did. Yeah. And I was like, but I, I just, I can't imagine a devil's predators, Stanley Cup final. Like I can't, I think I can't, I can't picture both of those teams getting over the hump in the same year. So I had to go with somebody who has a little bit more of a proven track record in the playoffs. Absolutely. And that's a totally fair answer. I just think the predators can be one of those goofy teams that because the West is also pretty wide open, again, minus teams like the Oilers. So why not stumble your way in? And yeah, if UC Sorrows is Vesna, Vesna caliber, especially in the postseason, no one's beating them. If that forward group really finds a rhythm, heck yeah, and they have better depth than you think it's a bunch of, I don't want to say no names, but it's homegrown talent for the most part. Yeah, when it's homegrown talent, most of the national, you know, people that are outside of that market don't know it is with the Penguins did for so long. I mean, people didn't know who Brian Rust was. Jake Genssel. They're like, who are these people? And all of a sudden they become key cogs to a Stanley Cup. So you could have similar things down there in Nashville. So you have Nashville and the Rangers. I have the devils and the Oilers. It's nice that we have four different teams in here. Who's the Stanley Cup champion, I'm telling you right now, October 8th. Give me the answer. Give me the winning lottery ticket or what? Who's winning the Stanley Cup? So of those two teams that I picked, I would give the Predators the edge in a seven game series. Ooh, a Preds Stanley Cup season would be interesting. I think do you think they'd have a U2 concert at the parade? Maybe and I would hope they would parade goalposts down Broadway again. Ooh, yes. That would be pretty good. Start the parade at Vanderbilt and then just write down Broadway with the same goalposts. Same goalposts. You need to save that one. Save it because you're going to need it in six months. The crowd left Bridgestone, went all the way down Broadway, broke into, I think it's called First Bank Stadium, tore the goalposts down and pulled them all the way back up to the Cumberland River. By the way, that was the most fascinating thing to watch over the weekend. That was great. That was awesome. I mean, between that and the actual game, I mean, Alabama losing that game was crazy. Love it. Um, and speaking of the connection, National Predators had Coach Andrew Manette was part of the parade. He helped the students out as it went past Bridgestone. So the good karma is already there and most of the reason why I would give the Predators the Edge in a seven game series is, like I said before, I just can't in good faith pick anyone in the East to make it to the final. Someone had to make it there. The Rangers seemed like the strongest. What makes me believe that they could do it in the final? Yeah. That's a fair assumption. That's a fair, fair analysis there. And because of reasons of Conor McDavid, and I'll keep it short with that, Edmonton Oilers are your 20, 25 Stanley Cup champions. But that is going to do it for this episode of the tip of the iceberg. Thank you again to everybody who's tuned in and thank you again to Joe Brand for joining the show today. We're excited because tomorrow it all begins game one of 82 penguins versus Rangers. It all begins. I'm excited. You're excited. All of our listeners are excited, but that's going to do it for this episode of the tip of the iceberg. Remember, you can find us on YouTube, like, share, subscribe, all the tip of the iceberg, or you can find us anywhere you get your podcasts from. We'll see you guys next time. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
