Rangers Talk
Rangers Talk | Matt Hermiz & Mike Keenan
The own sound attack are not having the season that they might have expected. And in large part, it's because their captain got traded away. Colby Barlow returned from the Winnipeg Jets training camp and said, guys, you got to trade me. I want a chance to play for a champion this year. So Barlow gets traded to Oshawa and his return happened last Saturday. The gens played the attack at the Bay Shore in front of a sold out crowd. I wanted to learn more about that emotional night at the Bay Shore and all things attack who come into action this weekend in ninth place in the Western Conference. So to find that out, I'm joined by Matt Hermes, who is the play-by-play voice of the own sound attack. Matt joins us for our first intermission interview for Five Star Water. Well, Matt, last Saturday, we were in Erie watching the Ottotown scoreboard and knowing that it was a big game. It's not often that a ninth place team sells out its barn, but I guess that's what happens when your former captain comes back to the Bay Shore. For sure, I was at that game that night and certainly a lot of energy in the crowd. And, yeah, you referenced it. The return of Colby Barlow to Owen Sound, the one and only time that the attack fans get to see him at the Bay Shore in a non-attack uniform because the generals only come to town once a season. And I don't know if it's the sound the wrong way, but I think it's an unlikely OHL final. So that'll probably be the one time that they get to see him. Yeah, it was a very energetic game and I think everyone enjoyed it. The attack themselves have been playing a lot of close games and that game kind of panned out the same way. So, yeah, I think that everyone was, it was kind of a lukewarm reception for Colby. There was a video played and, you know, there was some applause, but also when he scored the goal and his name was announced, there were certainly a couple boos that you could hear in the building, which is understandable because I think things are still a bit fresh and the way things played out publicly, like everyone in the one sound knew that Colby wanted to go somewhere else, right? And it's a proud city and a proud market, the smallest market in the CHL, and maybe that rubs some people the wrong way. So I think given that it, you know, things are still fresh, that it was understandable that that kind of reception was expected, lukewarm. Some appreciation for everything Colby did for the attack in his time, the six most goals in attack history. One of the 10-game goals scoring streak once, that is also the most in franchise history. A lot of other things I can pull up, he was the youngest captain. So, you know, over time, I think those wounds will heal, but there's, you know, on Saturday night, there is certainly a bit of both going on. It's really interesting and I'm so glad to get that perspective because following online, I could only follow so much. But to be honest with you, I thought when I heard about that sellout, there were going to be 3,500 or so there to boo Colby Barlow because of the way it ended. But I got the sense from some of the video and some of the commentary I saw after the fact that there definitely was this bittersweet aspect to it and it was an emotional night in Owen Sound. Yeah, I think that's the case. If you asked me to measure on a barometer, maybe the boo tilted a bit more that way, but it's because they're cheering for their team, right? The attack or their team and Colby Barlow plays for the Oshawa General. So the fans there in the building, as much as, you know, some of them were there to probably appreciate and see Colby again. They were there to see the attack win. OK, so let's talk about this attack team and its winning ways, just picking up a victory on the road in Erie, which is never an easy two points to get. How do you size up this team a quarter of the way plus through the season, Matt? Well, they are a young group and they're competitive and they've been in a lot of games that have not gone their way. This is actually something I talked with attack head coach Scott Ray prior to the Erie game on Wednesday. Now the attack have played 11 one goal games this season and they've won only two of them. Some other math to 17 of 24 games have been two goal games for Owen Sound. So they're in a lot of close games. They've only won four of those games, by the way, of those 17 two goal games. So a lot of close games they have not been able to find ways to win is kind of what the trend has been for this team. I think it's understandable. A lot of 16 and 17 year olds that are just learning the league, learning how to win, they're going to take some lumps along the way. And playing those close games I think is going to help this group, not just later this season, 25 games for now and we get into February, but a year, two years from now playing in this. As you would know very well, Mike, a very tough Midwest division. We've got to see teams like the Kitchener Rangers, the London Knights, the Guelph Storm and the ure otters many times the season. I'm glad you talked about that projection a couple of years out, Matt, because, and your reference Scott Ray to, who I think comes from an underappreciated program up in North Bay, this guy knows how to win. And to reference Barlow again, when Colby Barlow was here with Petrovsky, with Gandalf, et cetera, with Denny Gore, everybody thought that would be the core to take this Owen Sound team back to that promised land. So what does the landscape look like now? Is there optimism with the group that's in the scenic city right now? I think there's a ton of optimism in terms of like what the player group will look like as the core. I think that's still all being figured out and defined and the, in my opinion, this is sort of a transition year for the team where all of that's being figured out and the team's general manager Dale de Gray is going to make the decisions he's going to make. And, you know, maybe a year from now you'll be standing here and we'll have a better idea of who whatever those few players might be. But I also think that if you talk to Scott Ray, the team's head coach, maybe that idea of having just a couple, a few star players is not really the idea that they're going for anymore. They're more interested in having a team identity and I don't mean that just in the cliche way but I really mean that like running four lines and ensuring that all of the players feel involved night in and night out is something that I've observed that they're very interested in doing so. So maybe that idea of like how things were perceived in the last cycle, you mentioned players like Kobe Barlow, Cedric Gendo, Surback Petroski, Denny Gore. There's a few others who were kind of top guys. Sam Sedley left the attack as the career leader and points by defensement. So another guy I can't forget but I think maybe this next cycle for the attack is going to be more based on a team identity now as we're going to be a couple of guys that you know emerge as top scores for sure. That happens on every hockey team but that will be, you know, defined over the next season or two I think. All right before I let you go one of the big stories around the OHL this week and not on the ice is the weather that's coming through this province. Usainte Marie already had to cancel a game today. We're going to see what happens down the road but the Sioux, North Bay, Berry and Owen Sound is in this path of the winter wall up coming to Ontario. How were things when you left today? What are you expecting to go home to? Things weren't too bad yet. I got a little bit of snow in Owen Sound overnight and again some scattered flurries and I'm speaking just strictly in Owen Sound. I'm not sure how the rest of Gray and Bruce counties look. Maybe some areas got some of their dump already but yeah this is kind of just par for the course this time of the year living in the Owen Sound area. So to answer your question I have no idea. There's been so many times where the weather forecast is snow squall warning and there's you know days of the end of the world being sounded and tons of snow headed our way and it's just a little sprinkle in the end right? So you don't really know. That being said we could also wake up tomorrow morning or or hopefully this doesn't happen but on our drive back tonight from Kitchener to Owen Sound on the bus it could already be coming down pretty hard so we'll have to wait and see what happens but I know the attack are looking forward to getting back after this game to take on the Windsor Spitfires at the Bay Shore tomorrow. You call it a few flurries in Owen Sound. We call it a snowstorm down here. We call it in the Army. We know how it goes Matt. Always good to see you. Thanks for doing this. Appreciate it Mike. Matt Hermes is the play-by-play voice of the Owen Sound attack. He joins our first intermission for five-star water solutions. Visit five-starwater.ca thanks to Paul Fixter. We've been able to get some high profile guests onto these broadcasts. I'm not sure any more high profile than the one we're about to hear from. Mike Keenan, Iron Mike Stanley Cup champion NHL coach joins our second intermission for Fowler Tire and Automotive Center on Fairway Road in Kitchener. Mike has a new book out which is co-written by Scott Morrison the excellent writer well-known in Canadian sports circles and we had a chance to talk to Iron Mike about the book. Here's Paul Fixter and Mike's conversation with Mike Keenan your second intermission for Fowler Tire. Really pleased to be joined by Mike Keenan author of the book Iron Mike, my life behind the bench in conjunction with Scott Morrison. I guess Mike, 15th all-time in the regular season wins, 5th all-time in playoff wins, Stanley Cup obviously in New York 1994. What made you want to write the book? Well actually I was really hesitant about maybe well-being into it and Jay Greenberg approached me who God bless his soloist past and then Scott Morrison was editing and I asked Scott to follow up. I just didn't really think that I had that many interesting stories to tell but they poked the bear and they said no no you've got to tell some stories so that was sort of the genesis of it and how it came about and how it evolved after Jay passed. Scott, both Hall of Fame writers picked it up and and agreed to continue the project. As I was thinking about this conversation Mike I know when you talk to a coach about a favorite team or a favorite player or anyone who stands out it's like asking a parent their favorite child but it's hard to miss that on the cover of the book the foreword is by Mark Messier and his was the first name that came to my mind when I thought about players you coached. He must stand out amongst all of the players you had in your career. Well I was really really privileged to coach a great number of super players, super people. You know Mark of course winning championships both in '87, '91 Canada Cup and the New York Rangers and then grad school was with me for two Canada Cups and you know Chellios, Roanik, all the Hall of Fame. I had 50 Hall of Famers played for me so to start naming them Pronger in St. Louis of the youngster Mark Howe the Hall of Famer, one of my first Hall of Famers in Philly and I could go on and on so like you said it's tough to to think about one individual because I had many great players both in Canada Cup World Championships and throughout the NHL. Mike I read in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed the book that you there's 60 plus former players that you coached that went on to be NHL coaches, GMs and obviously Hall of Famers. How much pride do you take in that accomplishment? Well I'm really happy for them. I'm not sure how much I influenced them but maybe maybe I've influenced them in the way that they said I'm going to approach it this way not that way. Yeah I'm happy for them and you know a lot of really exceptional individuals who continue to make their mark and some one of the Stanley Cup Cassidy and Burubi as an example I coached both of them. I went to the series against them I didn't know who to cheer for so I just sat there in a neutral position but yeah they've a number of Cole Campbells going into the Hall of Fame this weekend and he was an assistant coach at TikTok of mine in in New York so a lot of people that I was involved with throughout my hockey career have gone on to be great executives, great coaches, Billy Garin played for me. I'm just throwing out names I'm going to miss many because we don't have time but just some of the examples of guys that have gone on to to continue their careers in hockey after their playing days. You mentioned Dick Todd I got to bring it back to the Ontario League and the Peterborough Pete's where you had an early coaching job. What was it like for you in Peterborough and in the Ontario Hockey League back then? Well that was a great experience and a great stepping still and I didn't expect to be there and a very short term because I had signed a contract to continue to work there and learn about my craft, my profession and Dick Todd was there with me and he really was instrumental in helping me and our team to succeed very quickly after they had won the Memorial Cup to go back to the Memorial Cup finals. You know great young players, all of Fame Larry Murphy on defense and you know God bless Mark Reed's, Billy Gardner and Andre Haiti our top line so again I can go through many players that end up playing for me after Jimmy Lehmer played for me in Rochester after that and had a long career with the NHL and with Boston Bruins many other state Morrison became a here he is a a player for me goes to the National League and then of course was involved and is involved with the Toronto Maple Leafs so it was a great experience a short one but there was a lot of things put in order in sort of the culture of the Peterborough Pete's from Gary Green Wayne prior to that Roger Nielsen coaching and then the legacy of Scotty Bowman being there as well so and of course Dick had a great run as in in Peterborough for many years so it was and Phil is a real important franchise I think in the league and also in junior hockey the way it's set up and and the community is really involved in it so that's important I know they are in Kitchener as well so those communities that are well and embraced by the better teams that are well embraced by the community are important to those communities you know of all the changes they've made in Peterborough since you left Mike the one thing that hasn't changed is those damn square corners they always talk about in that arena I mean talk about a home ice advantage right exactly yeah we we had we definitely did have an advantage of how we were going to forward check and then they're posing players and teams certainly we're trying to figure that out because it's come a little bit of a different game when you get into a building like that Mike Keenan author of Iron Mike my life behind the bench and of course coached a few games in the national hockey league joining our second intermission for Fowler tire boy the names that he threw out there Mike it's just incredible and that's part two of part three so we'll get part three at some point that was a real treat to to pick his brain and talk about his career and what a career it was but the names that he was around but I really liked one thing he said there all those great players at 50 50 players that went on to have Hall of Fame careers he says maybe it wasn't the things that I taught them maybe they did things differently after being away from me because he was a hard he was hard on them no question about it and as hard as he was and the reputation that he earned as Iron Mike we found a very different sounding man on the other end of that phone call well when you when he answered the phone when you call him he said no I'm not Iron Mike anymore I'm just Mike