Host of "The Hockey Show" David Dwork joins us to talk Panthers! We reflect on last night's crushing loss, is Vanecek to blame? David admits he is still adjusting to Brad Marchand but is excited at the idea of a lineup including Marchand, Tkachuk, and Bennett! Do we have concern with the team chemistry once everyone comes back? Should we be concerned with Aaron Ekblad's ability to bounce back from his suspension? The guys comment on the Panthers Rookie Sensation Mackie Samoskevich breakout season!
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00:00Let us talk a little Panthers hockey.
00:02It's time for a thing we like to call cat talk,
00:05which is brought to us by Hollywood Kia.
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00:16from the Hockey News and the Hockey Show
00:19on Metal Ark Media with Roy Bellamy,
00:21the Hockey Hornet himself.
00:23David Dwork joining us here on the program.
00:27Hello, sir.
00:28How are you?
00:30Somebody unmute him.
00:32Unmute yourself, dude.
00:33I mean, we got you here for the big open on the show.
00:34You muted yourself.
00:37I'm glad that I was muted because of the word I just said.
00:42When you said that, so it worked out.
00:46Perfect.
00:47Perfect.
00:48How are you?
00:48I'm like, I'm looking at the screen
00:49and I feel like I've seen Leroy in his setting many times,
00:52but it's just kind of hitting me
00:54that it looks like an evil lair.
00:56Like he's like the Dr. Evil at the end of the table
01:00with all the, which is very cool.
01:02Is it the red?
01:03Is it the red?
01:04The red probably is what gives like the evil flair.
01:07And I'm not saying that like, it's like Leroy,
01:09like you're scary.
01:10I like it.
01:12It is.
01:13It's a look.
01:14Nobody treats me like I'm scary.
01:16I do a show with Tobin and it's like,
01:20everybody sympathizes with me.
01:21They feel bad for me because Tobin does Tobin stuff.
01:27Fair.
01:28Well, maybe that's the arc that
01:29that's like your evil origin story.
01:31Dude, last night was a gut punch.
01:36I was staring at the screen for a while.
01:38I couldn't accept it.
01:40It was like, what, what the hell just happened?
01:43What happened?
01:45Yeah.
01:46A bad balance.
01:47I mean, look, it sucks.
01:48Like, you know, watching it happen.
01:49It felt like it was happening in slow motion
01:51because there was nothing but Panthers players
01:53around the puck.
01:53And then all of a sudden the puck goes sideways
01:55and it just so happens that like
01:57the way that it hit the ice and bounced
01:59and the way that it hit Sam Reinhart,
02:00it went in the perfect place where everybody wasn't.
02:03It was like a perfect comedy of errors that happened.
02:06It was great for the Montreal fans, obviously,
02:08but man, that's a little bit of a gut punch.
02:11Now, like we're to the point in the season where,
02:16you know, we have a good team,
02:19you know, they're getting healthy
02:22and then hockey happens.
02:25Like, do you just shrug it off and move on?
02:27Because, you know, this time of year,
02:29you had a chance to get to within one point
02:32and then you could take the lead in the division tonight.
02:37Or do you just like, wow, that was a tough break
02:39and just keep it moving?
02:41You have to just keep it moving.
02:42Like, there's still 10, nine, 10 games, whatever it is,
02:45and you've got a playoff run ahead of you.
02:47You can't focus, particularly on a regular season game
02:49where you still got a point.
02:50Like, it stings and you want to think about it
02:53and you want to kind of like, you know,
02:54grind it out in your head a little bit,
02:55but no, you've got to move on.
02:56And I think this is one of the rare situations
02:59where it's a good thing that they have a back-to-back
03:00because they're forced to focus
03:02on a really good Toronto team.
03:04And as you said, Leroy, there's still two points behind.
03:06The division is right there for them.
03:08So they can't afford to think about
03:09what happened in Montreal right now.
03:11And it's frustrating because it wasn't just the loss.
03:14There was little things that happened.
03:15There was what happened at the end of the last game
03:16with Mikko on the slap shot.
03:18And then there was a little retribution
03:19in last night's game and it's fun and it's pretty
03:21and it's grimy, but no,
03:22you've got to just tunnel vision right back ahead
03:24to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
03:25Otherwise you're going to fall even further out of the race.
03:27Did you think like I did that,
03:30ooh, Bob could have got over there
03:31because he's more flexible?
03:34I mean,
03:35Yes.
03:36It's a tough situation for any goalie
03:38because you've got a guy coming with speed down your left
03:41and you've got to seal off that post.
03:43And usually when there's more than three guys
03:45or six guys on the ice, when it's just three on three,
03:47there's going to be bodies there
03:48that aren't going to allow a guy that much free space
03:50to get to the other post so fast.
03:52It was tough to watch,
03:54but I don't think Vanichek necessarily
03:55did anything wrong on that play.
03:57And Vanichek also had some really good saves earlier
04:00in the game.
04:01So I don't want to take anything away from that either.
04:02But it was a frustrating play.
04:04I think just in terms of like the overtime
04:06and how it all played out.
04:07But I think that whole five minute block
04:10from the end of regulation to the end of overtime
04:12was just like, what the heck just happened?
04:15Do we have a hard time as fans of our team
04:18giving other team credit for a great play?
04:21I think that's a general thing with fans, you know?
04:25Like who wants to compliment the guys that you want to.
04:27Right.
04:28If it was our guy who did that same move,
04:30we'd be like, oh my goodness, did you see that?
04:34Oh, it'd be the best wraparound move of all time.
04:36Are you kidding me?
04:37Like put it on the top 10 sports.
04:39No, of course.
04:40Right.
04:41But no, otherwise it's like, dude, what was he thinking?
04:42Right.
04:44Was in the building on Friday for Marshan's debut
04:49where he has the setup in OT for Bennett,
04:52but what have been your early impressions
04:54of Brad Marshan in a Panthers jersey?
04:57I'm still adjusting to it.
05:00And it's cool.
05:01Like it's really neat.
05:02Like when you see, it's not like, you know, he's skilled.
05:05You know, he's amazing with the puck.
05:06You know, he's got crazy bursts of speed.
05:08But when I see the little things after the whistle
05:10that like to what we were just saying, Leroy,
05:12the things that used to drive me crazy
05:14and what made you hate Brad Marshan,
05:16like to see all those little things now
05:19with the flying your flag, it's really cool.
05:21And I'm very much enjoying that because like what he does,
05:24what this guy personifies is so much like Panthers hockey.
05:28Like he's a perfect fit.
05:29And so I just want to see it continue to build
05:30because the more comfortable he gets,
05:32I think the more fun it's going to be for us to watch.
05:33But it's still a little weird.
05:37What do you make?
05:38I can't wait for him to be on the ice with Kachuck.
05:43Like two of the same guy on different sides of the ice.
05:46Holy smokes.
05:48The idea of a Bennett Kachuck,
05:51Marshan line in the playoffs,
05:53like that's got to scare the crap out of you
05:55if you're another team,
05:56because you know that like, that's not even the top line.
05:58You've still got Barkov and Reinhardt
05:59that are going to come over the boards as well.
06:01But that's got to scare the crap out of you
06:02as an opposing player,
06:04just because of the physicality and the scariness
06:06that all of those players can bring to the table.
06:08Well, I'm curious about this, man,
06:09because like you're infiltrating Marshan
06:12and he said he wants to get as many games as possible.
06:14Is there any concern that you have going into the playoffs,
06:19probably getting Kachuck back,
06:22you're going to get Eckblad back
06:24and just adding these guys,
06:25do you feel like it's going to be seamless
06:27or is there any concern about getting everybody
06:29back into the fold the same way?
06:32I mean, personally, I'm, I don't want to say I'm concerned,
06:35but it's something that I'm definitely paying attention to.
06:38I'm like, this is something that I've been saying
06:39for a few weeks now,
06:40because if you go into a first round series,
06:42but previous a week ago, it was against Ottawa,
06:44but whoever it may be, but let's just say Ottawa,
06:46they're playing insanely well right now.
06:48You're going to play against an Ottawa team
06:50where the first two games,
06:50you know, you're not going to have Aaron Eckblad.
06:52You may or may not have Matthew Kachuck back.
06:54And if you do, how game ready is he going to be?
06:56Because Paul Maurice just said the other day
06:58that it's going to take some time
06:59for him to get back into game shape
07:00and to get to that speed back down.
07:02So God forbid you fall behind two nothing on home ice
07:05to a really hot team that just made the playoffs.
07:07You're in a really bad spot.
07:09So I would assume that this is something
07:10that the Panthers are very aware of
07:12and that they're going to do everything they can
07:14to mitigate that.
07:15But no matter what,
07:16it's got to be a little bit of a concern
07:17just because that's hockey, that's sports.
07:20You can't just hit the ground running,
07:21especially in the playoffs.
07:22So hopefully the Panthers are able to prepare for that.
07:25But yes, it is something that I've thought about many times.
07:28Is like, is there any concern that Kachuck's not going to,
07:31I mean, not Kachuck,
07:32that Eckblad's not going to be as energized?
07:37Like, is it, you know?
07:39I just, I'm curious because-
07:41Stop!
07:42Like, how does this work when you come back?
07:44Like, does he get, do they test him more?
07:47Like, is he, you know, is he going to be fine?
07:49Like, I don't know how this works in hockey.
07:51The lack of smoothness, asking that question
07:54is very, very unpleasant.
07:56He's got no cooth!
07:57He's got no cooth!
07:58Like, like-
07:59Well, I thought he was set up.
08:00Is Eckblad going to look smaller?
08:05You're trying to like-
08:06I don't know how to go about it.
08:08I don't know how you're going to interact with him.
08:09Oh my God.
08:10I'm sitting here, his number one rival last year was Kepka,
08:13and now it's, and now it's potential supplements.
08:19David, welcome to my world.
08:21Yeah, right?
08:23I can feel my lair changing around me.
08:26No, like, as far as we know,
08:28he took the wrong cold supplement.
08:30Like, this isn't necessarily
08:31a performance enhancing steroid type thing.
08:33Like, there's a, it's a long list, as you guys know,
08:36of things that could be on there.
08:38And we, you know, we're not going to know ever.
08:40I can tell you that Eckblad has been skating.
08:42He's been working out.
08:43He's been doing everything he can
08:45to keep himself ready for the playoffs.
08:47To your specific question,
08:48I don't think that's going to be an issue
08:50because I don't think necessarily
08:52it was an issue ahead of time.
08:53I think he's been playing very well
08:55just because he's been able to stay healthy.
08:57And even saying that,
08:58I feel like that kind of leads into what you were saying.
08:59But no, I don't think there's going to be much of an issue
09:01with Aaron Eckblad.
09:02I think based on the fact that he's healthy
09:04and that he's able to work out as much as he wants,
09:06that he should be able to hit the ground running
09:07as best as possible when we get to the playoffs.
09:09But still, you can't go from zero
09:12to game three of the playoffs
09:13and just think it's all going to be good.
09:14You think that some of these organizations,
09:17and I would say like the NFL, the NBA,
09:20baseball, even hockey,
09:22that they do their players a disservice
09:27sometimes by not announcing what the infraction was
09:32or what the drug was.
09:33Because a lot of times you can get suspended
09:37for something that is considered a diuretic
09:41and not necessarily an actual steroid
09:45or something like that.
09:46But when we hear failed to drug test,
09:48we immediately think steroids or something along those lines.
09:52I think in many cases that would be beneficial,
09:56but I think the problem is it's a slippery slope.
09:59And if you start labeling the good ones,
10:02then the ones that don't get labeled,
10:04then you kind of know what it is.
10:05So you're trying to keep that a secret,
10:07but then you can't because,
10:08well, he didn't do anything that wasn't okay,
10:10but not okay.
10:11So I feel like, yes, that would be good for a lot of guys.
10:14And if that was the situation with Aaron Eklid,
10:16which we don't know,
10:17then obviously that would be good for him
10:18to be able to say, look, I just made a little mistake.
10:21I wasn't trying to break the rules.
10:23But I think that would open a lot of guys up
10:26to a lot more exposure than maybe they
10:28and their teams want them to be.
10:29So it's one of those situations
10:31where there's just no black and white answer.
10:33There's a lot of, like, I've seen it in the NFL.
10:38You can go to GNC and get a supplement off the counter
10:43and get flagged and suspended.
10:46And I think a lot of people just make the assumption,
10:50I'm not gonna mention any names,
10:53that it's steroids or something along those lines,
10:57when it could have been something like,
10:59I know in football, creatine.
11:02If you take creatine or something like that,
11:04that is also banned.
11:08I think during COVID, there were guys that got suspended
11:10for taking different cold supplements
11:12and things that they were trying to take
11:14just to keep them from not falling into the pandemic.
11:16And it was, oh, wait,
11:17I didn't realize this was on the banned list.
11:19I bought it at Walgreens.
11:20You know what I mean?
11:21So yeah, there's tons of things.
11:23Guys have to be very, very diligent
11:25with what they put into their bodies.
11:26I don't think a lot of fans realize that.
11:28They could buy something at Publix
11:30that could get them suspended
11:31and cost them millions of dollars.
11:32So it's tough, but that's part of the life, right?
11:35Yeah.
11:36Yeah, but the number one thing that we haven't mentioned
11:37that is important with Eckblad is,
11:39he's a good boy and he would never do this.
11:41No.
11:43Well, I mean, look,
11:44his wife also works in the medical profession.
11:46So he should be very aware.
11:48So I think that's part of why he put out that statement
11:51and why there was some shame in what happened,
11:52just because if anybody should be on top of this, right?
11:57It's him, right.
11:59This season by Sam Miscavige lately, I mean, holy crap.
12:04It feels like this kid is, I guess,
12:07I don't know if you thought
12:08he was going to be this impressive this year,
12:09but I think we had him on the show
12:11and it feels like this last month and a half that he's had,
12:14the kid just keeps lighting it up.
12:16Do you feel like this is going to also carry over
12:19into the playoffs for a rook like him?
12:21Because he looks ready for the stage, man.
12:24You have no reason not to think
12:25just because he's been on such a nice, steady ascension
12:28as the season has gone on.
12:29Paul Maurice has thrown a lot of credit
12:32to him being paired up with Sam Bennett
12:34and the chemistry that they have on and off the ice.
12:36And Sam kind of taking Mackie under his wing a little bit.
12:39But I think with especially young hockey players,
12:41but hockey players in general,
12:43confidence is such a huge part of success.
12:45And right now I don't think that kid's probably
12:47ever felt as confident as he is right now.
12:49Maybe when he was in Michigan in college
12:50and doing frozen fours and all that.
12:52But I mean, this is the NHL.
12:53This is the best of the best.
12:55And he's out there and he's scoring goals
12:56like hotcakes right now.
12:57He's getting time on the top power play.
12:59He's getting pushed up the lines when the game is late
13:02and when they need a little offense.
13:03Paul Maurice has put him on the top line here and there.
13:05So the confidence both in the player
13:07and the coaching staff has in the player is growing.
13:10I keep going back to what I said before
13:12about the playoffs being a different beast
13:14and Mackie's never experienced that before.
13:16Some guys were able to continue
13:18and some guys it's overwhelming at first.
13:20Now I would think that guys like Sam Bennett particularly
13:23but this Panthers team would have him prepared for that.
13:25But it's been fun just to watch him kind of grow this year
13:27to use his speed, to use his skill.
13:29We've heard a lot that this guy's got a crazy shot
13:31but to see him actually putting it into good use
13:33finding room to get one timers off.
13:35Like I love that they got him on the first power play
13:38just because that's only going to build confidence more.
13:40It's been really fun because we haven't seen a rookie
13:43kind of blow up like this with the Panthers in a while.
13:45Like you think Anton Lundell
13:47he's been an amazing young player, but he
13:49you know, he had a great first year.
13:50He hasn't like blown up like that.
13:52He's just been an amazingly consistent, you know
13:54baby Barkie.
13:55So to see Mackie kind of take off like this
13:57as a first round pick is somebody
13:59that the Panthers could really need.
14:00Cause you guys know you need those cheap young contracts
14:03to supplement all those big deals at the top
14:05when you want to build something good and go after that.
14:07D word that we keep talking about that dynasty
14:09that they're trying to do.
14:10So this would be a big part of it.
14:12And to see Mackie taken off
14:14like it's been really cool and really fun.
14:16You think when guys, when other teams see guys like that
14:20so say if, you know, their face, Ottawa, right.
14:24They're going to look at somebody like Mackie
14:26and say, let's rough him up a little bit.
14:29Yeah. Why not?
14:30Like you're going to put a target on those guys' backs
14:32as you don't know necessarily how they're going to respond
14:34and anything you can do to get
14:36under a guy's skin, especially in the playoffs
14:38you're going to take every little thing to your advantage.
14:40And that's where having a guy like Brad Marchand
14:42is such a benefit just because he knows
14:45like so many of those little things that are going to get
14:47under so many guys' skin
14:48as many of his teammates in Florida do.
14:51But yeah, no, to answer your question.
14:53Absolutely.
14:54If I'm Ottawa or Montreal
14:55or whoever that their first round opponent may be
14:58there are guys that you're going to be talking about.
15:00I want to try to poke this guy.
15:01I want to try to target this guy.
15:02I think I can get under this guy's skin
15:04and piss him off.
15:04Like, absolutely.
15:06I love the idea of Lindell
15:07like wanting to have the fun that Sam Miscavige has.
15:10And like Barkley is like, is that the Finnish way?
15:13Is that a smile?
15:16You're having too much fun?
15:18Buddy, I appreciate the time.
15:20Enjoy the action tonight.
15:21Go follow David Dwork's work.
15:23He is the best out there covering the Panthers.
15:25We love him.
15:26The Hockey News.
15:27And you can hear him on the hockey show
15:28Metalark Media with Roy Bellamy.
15:30Hockey Hornet.
15:31It was a pleasure.
15:33Buzz buzz.
15:34Love to Marcos and Jen.
15:35Thanks for having me on guys.
15:36All right.
15:36Bye.
15:37Hockey Hornet.