Up My Hockey with Jason Podollan
Up My Hockey with Jason Podollan
EP.158 - Mitch Wahl - From Spokane to Europe: 15-Year Pro Journey
Mitch Wahl, a former second-round NHL draft pick and Memorial Cup champion, shares his 15-year professional journey from the Spokane Chiefs to European leagues.
• California native who was drafted 4th overall to the WHL's Spokane Chiefs
• Won the Memorial Cup championship in 2008, his NHL draft year
• Selected 48th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2008 NHL Draft
• Represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships
• Career-altering injuries during his first pro season coincided with management changes in Calgary
• Found success in European professional leagues, playing in Sweden, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, and Germany
• Discusses the importance of building relationships and having organizational allies
• Explains how preparation creates confidence regardless of results
• Reflects on how hockey provided incredible life experiences and global travel opportunities
• Currently playing his 15th professional season in Germany at age 35
Play hard and keep your head up to maximize your hockey journey, finding success wherever the game takes you.
Winning my draft year is almost picture perfect. I mean, nothing could have went a whole lot better that way, and I was. I mean we won our last nine games that season the Western Conference final, we went to game seven where it's Tri-City, and we swept the finals, swept the Memorial Cup. So we were playing well and it was just. I mean, everything just fell right into place before that summer. I got drafted to Calgary, so it was. It was awesome, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:That was American born player, mitch Wall, former second rounder and 15 year professional. And you are listening to the Up my Hockey with Jason Padolan, where we deconstruct the NHL journey, discuss what it takes to make it and have a few laughs along the way. I'm your host, jason Padolan, a 31st overall draft pick who played 41 NHL games but thought he was destined for a thousand. Learn from my story and those of my guests. This is a hockey podcast about reaching your potential. Hey there, welcome to, or welcome back to, the Up my Hockey podcast with Jason Podolin. I am your host, jason Podolin, and you're here for episode 158 with Mitch Wall.
Speaker 2:Mitch Wall came on my radar well a few years ago because he's a Spokane Chief and he's a Spokane Chief that was recognized within the organization as being one of the top 35 players in 35 years. So I had not seen Mitch play. I didn't know much about him, but I did know his name. And then just recently, with the Spokane chief, success in the playoffs and some buzz around, uh, buzz around that group uh, his name came up again. It was in a. It was in a Spokane uh tribune or a spokesman review sorry article there locally. Uh, his name came to me from a buddy of mine named Mike Edgehouse who said you should interview this guy, and anyways, as the worlds collide, we were able to connect and I was able to get into Mitch's history, what he's doing now, his career. We were able to talk about the Chiefs and our mutual experiences there, both playing four years for that organization in somewhat different eras, and I really think you're going to enjoy this conversation.
Speaker 2:Mitch, which I didn't know of until we started talking, was a California boy, born and raised there and played his hockey there and was drafted in the early, early first round fourth overall to Spokane in his WHL draft year. So since his time with the draft, the draft has now been separated the WHL draft into a US prospects draft and then the regular. You know, let's say, north American draft style. So they've given the US players a little more sort of emphasis. Their own day they have it the day before the regular draft, but in Mitch's time they held it together and he was a fourth overall selection there, which is obviously super, super high up when we're considering the entire Western hemisphere there of North America. So awesome job for him.
Speaker 2:He ended up coming in and playing as a 16-year-old and put up some really good numbers as a 16-year-old and then won the Memorial Cup in his second year, which was also his draft year and I guess was a Memorial Cup All-Star was drafted in the second round to Calgary and really all signs were pointing up for him and his junior career continued in a great light, almost scored 100 points in his last year and was signed by Calgary. And then that's when things kind of derailed for him a little bit and we talk about that and that's the thing. It is so tough to have everything Well, I shouldn't say everything, but the majority of things go your way to have the career that you want to have. And Mitch went from everything going his way, from the 16-year-old solid 16-year-old year to the draft year with the Memorial Cup Championship, to playing for Team USA at the World Junior Championships Almost, like I said, scoring 100 points in his 19-year-old year, and things were really aligning for him to have a successful NHL uh level career. And then an injury hits and we talk about the injury and we talk about the change in ownership and direction from the team and and how things kind of can unravel pretty quickly. Uh, but Mitch obviously loves the sport, he loves the game. He stayed, stayed in the fight, ended up going um, hopping, hopping the sea, the Atlantic, to uh to play over in in Europe. And he's played all over in Europe. He's still playing now and uh, and yeah, it was just an awesome, really awesome conversation. I really enjoyed this conversation with Mitch. Um, it's nice to hear an American's perspective on on, you know, on his, his journey into the WHL and his time there in Spokane and, uh, lots of good lessons from him for being as successful as he is in his pro career.
Speaker 2:It's no joke to play 15 years of hockey and have someone be willing to pay you to do that. So by no means. Or I should say, mitch has a very respected career that he's created for himself and kind of might be something new for some of us listeners there to listen about the options of overseas and what's available. I mean, I for one had no idea even at 25 when I went over what it was really all about. But there is a whole world of hockey over there, a whole world of life experiences, and a real nice paycheck too, if you're ever good enough to make that happen for yourself. So definitely something to keep on your radar.
Speaker 2:But before we get into it, this episode is powered by BioSteel, the hydration choice trusted by pros and parents alike. And now it's even easier to grab. The new BioSteel Variety Pack is available at Costco Canada. You get 24 bottles, three flavors rainbow twist, blue raspberry and black cherry. All with no sugar, no caffeine and no junk. Just clean, effective hydration that works as hard as you do. Really happy to welcome BioSteel into the Up my Hockey community. They have wanted to be involved in the UMH 68 Invitational. They are going to be the hydration partner for that event and are really going to give a bunch of perks to the participants there. So awesome to align with a great company like BioSteel that's doing what they can for hockey players out there. So yes, by all means, if you are out and about, go pick up your BioSteel and see what they have with the new flavors. Now let's get into the conversation with Mitch Wall. All right, here we are. Welcome to the program, mitch Wall.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me, guys.
Speaker 2:Hey, really appreciate it. It's always nice to have a conversation with an ex-Spokane chief, especially one that shares, as I'm looking at it right now, top 35 in 35 years.
Speaker 1:So awesome to see your name up there beside mine and welcome to the program. Thank you, yeah, it's an honor to be on that list and happy to be on it with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's pretty cool. Spokane's done such a great job really over the years. I'm not familiar with the previous ownership group a ton although I believe that when I got listed, but back when I was around they didn't have a draft quite yet. So you got listed and I think I was part of the old regime. And then uh, because that happened at 13 years old and then but the Bretts came in and purchased it and uh, and it's just been nothing but professionalism, I think, ever, ever since.
Speaker 2:So, um, what, uh, well, actually maybe I'll just start with my scenario. We'll start with Spokane, because you know, that's where we both kind of essentially started our our, our own careers and our own past. I got to play in the boone street barn, so that was probably nothing that you even maybe even saw pictures of, but boy was that place a riot to play and it was just crazy. And then my very last year, the year that we went to the whl final, um fortly came, unfortunately came up short, but we're the number one ranked team in the chl that year. That was the year we opened the new rink, which is now obviously an old rink, but still a gorgeous rink there in the in the WHL. So that kind of puts puts me in the timeline for you about when I played um, and and that was just a ton of fun. Uh, what was? Uh? Did you play as a 16 year old?
Speaker 1:I did, yeah, I um. I mean, obviously it changed a little bit from when, um, when you were playing, but they had, I had a draft, but I was, I was 14 at the time and then you, you don't play that first year, um, I went up for trading camp and everything, got the experience and got to see spokane, what it was all about. But, um, obviously I'm an american, so I was. It was a little different at the time because there wasn't a lot of americans coming up to the western league. It's more common now and it's um, I got a lot of Americans coming up to the Western League it's more common now and I got a lot of, like, some backlash for that and my parents were kind of navigating it with me and you know, as a young kid, you're not, you know, you're not, I guess, fully there to make decisions on your own at that point. So you take, you know, help from your parents as well. But looking back on it, I have zero regrets and it was for me, it was the, it was the perfect decision.
Speaker 1:Um, we committed to Spokane and they drafted me um in 2005 and then a yes, I play as a 16 year old and, uh, luckily enough, I, um, I was able to play my whole junior career there when I uh, when the championship, and it was, uh, some of the best memories of my hockey career absolutely. And uh, tim Speltz, uh, was the GM there at the time, um, and obviously Bobby Bretts he's still there and was when you were, and uh, chris Moulton was a part of their, their staff, drafting me and scouting me and whatnot. So it was, um, but yeah, those are the best memories I could say of my hockey career in Spokane, because it was just such a good time of hockey for me. It was drafted the nhl from there, uh, being a 16 year old to 20, it's just a lot of development years as a human being and a hockey player.
Speaker 1:So, um, it was a lot of fun. And on top of that, my uh, my mom actually moved up there too at the time when I played there, so she lived with me there. My family actually bought a house, oh wow, and my dad came up as much as he could a couple times a month, and so it kind of became home for us for a while. So it definitely holds a special place. I met my wife there too, so it's a great place to our family.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, they're so formative those years, no matter where you are as a teenager, I don't care if you're playing hockey or not you're going to remember things from your teenage years.
Speaker 2:Then, when you get to spend it all in one place and you're away from home and you have the galvanizing forces of a hockey team and all the time you spend on the bus and everything else, if you wrap that into success, also with the team right which I we had as a group in spokane and you obviously did with, with winning the big prize there there's, it is. It's tough to match, you know, like I say that to guys and obviously we all have our own aspirations of what that's going to look like down the road and we all want to have nhl careers and we have these big, big dreams, uh, but it boy, like those steps along the way, sometimes that becomes like the big, the big thing you know, like for sure you winning that memorial cup, I would assume at this point is is the, is the highlight right, like that's the, that's a huge trophy to win absolutely, to be honest, I didn't know.
Speaker 1:You don't realize the extent of it when you're that young and this long later playing, you know, 17 years since that year we won. I mean, you just don't find that like camaraderie and that um atmosphere of just winning within a team very often, and I I have won two championships in pro hockey since then in europe and it's just, you see it, you see what you know how a group can come together, but it's very rare, you don't, you don't see it often. That was something that I didn't necessarily take for granted, but I didn't realize how special it was and it's. Looking back on it, I mean, it's just, it's the best memories for us now, just because it was, you know, the Memorial cup, but it's, it's. It's such a big trophy in junior hockey.
Speaker 2:And at the time I just didn't realize the value of it, I guess. But looking looking at it now, I do, yeah, well, maybe even a little bit less because you know, and coming out of the states, like you said, like it was a little bit foreign to you. Anyways, you know, once you got there and once you arrived, I'm sure you you mean you understood the league and everything else. That was your second year there, um, but I could totally see how, how you know myself included you don't, you don't understand the magnitude of stuff, especially like from a young man's perspective. Right, you're just along for the ride and we're enjoying what we do, and then when you look back, it's like holy smokes, like we never won it, but we did get to the final of the one year, like I said, and that was, I mean, that's a huge thing. That's the thing I say to people all the time. Yes, like lifting the trophy is huge, but like what, what it takes to even get there, like the edmonton oilers last year losing in game seven you know they didn't win the stanley cup, but if that was as far as they went, like that's a huge accomplishment, they would look back on that with like wow, like what a great team. And you know, and what we did, we did everything but win, essentially, you know, and uh, and I had that a few times in my pro career. When I was in bridgeport, we went to the uh, we went to the AHL final there. When we were in uh Mannheim, when the DEL, we went to the final. I've been to the final a few times. I've never have raised that trophy, uh, but boy, they're a special team. Still right, they're totally special teams and it's fun to be a part of.
Speaker 2:Uh, let's, let's backtrack, because the WHL just happened, whl draft, uh, just happened again and it's still a 14 year old draft. It's still crazy, in my opinion, that the whl has not changed that yet. Uh, but neither here nor there. It's 14 years old. So you got these kids that are finishing their their u15 year, uh, their second year bantams. They can't play till they're 16. But now there's all the hype and there's all the pressure and there's everything else that goes along with that, and the parents are stressing out about what team they're playing on and if they're in the right league and and and all the rest of that, and I think it's a lot on a 14 year old. But let's just go to where you were and where you got drafted from and where you got drafted to, like what you said. What? What round were you there the year you went?
Speaker 1:I was first round in Spokane. They took me fourth overall and I, um, at the time, like I said it was, it was more uncommon for americans, so I was. They wanted to make sure I was fully committed to coming before they drafted me. So, um, I was all in and we had a handshake agreement and, um, they went forward with drafting me in the first round and we, we went with it and I was, I mean, right from the start. I mean, I remember after the draft I had, my dad's phone was blowing up saying what are?
Speaker 1:you guys doing this and that I'm like a kid from california growing up playing all my youth hockey here until I was 15 and then, um, you know, at that point you're starting to look at maybe what junior places I could go to. We were looking at the US development program and then, you know, college teams start, I mean, poke around a little bit at that age. So there was a lot going on and we just shut the door on it all from a young age. So it was kind of a shock, but I mean, for me it worked out great. What?
Speaker 2:drew you there, though Sorry to cut you off, but so what drew you there as an American kid, was it the recruiting aspect of what Spokane made you feel?
Speaker 1:comfortable. I wasn't necessarily a big school kid, I wanted to play pro hockey At the time, just meeting with teams and getting more education about the major junior, I just felt like the best route to go for me at the time. And, um, just meeting with spokane, we just had really good conversations and it just it felt good. One thing I didn't want to do, I wanted to stay in the states. That was important to me at the time, just because and for my family too, I was just to send their kid up to Canada. It just seemed like a lot and so we kind of committed to an American team was kind of what we wanted and it worked out that way and it stayed that way until I was 20 or 19.
Speaker 2:The fourth overall Holy Smoke. So what youth program were you playing with down in California?
Speaker 1:I played majority of my youth with the California wave, um, and that was uh, uh, a powerhouse. Back then we, uh we went up and played in the Kamloops tournament, uh, medicine hat. We won both of those Uh. And then I uh, my last year of or excuse me minor hockey, I played for the los angeles junior kings, uh, for nelson emerson, and I played u18 there before I went up to spokane uh 16. But yeah, the california wave it's a little bit uh, it's not necessarily the program. I I would say that it was back then now, but, um, jack bogus was a a big part of that club, jeff turcotte and there were kind of some staples down here, um, in this area of southern california when I was growing up, and they built a really good program in the 88 year, 89, in the 90s, um, all three of those years were really good clubs for for years.
Speaker 2:So it was uh it was good oh, cool, any notable names from like from that team that was winning tournaments up in canada uh, man from the night, not a whole, like some kids played college hockey.
Speaker 1:Uh, and a little bit of pro matt lightner, he played, uh, he played college hockey. And some pro troy power um, our goaltender played at yale. Uh, nick marisich, um, colin redden played in the western league, actually played in portland, that's cool. Um, yeah, some guys. And then um, it's just hard.
Speaker 2:Why I bring that up is because it's hard and it's not to dampen any dreams, because I'm the guy who, like, works with players to help them make their dreams come true. But it's like goodness, like as good as, like that team was right to come from california and to beat you, beat the top teams up here in canada. You, you would just think, right, maybe there would be one guy or two guys that would, that would have some names. We uh funny little story from from Vernon, so like my town is like at the time when we were growing up, 30,000, maybe people 30, 35,000. And uh, and I left relatively early. But the last year that I was here, which was my major Peewee year, we went on and we won the uh, the provincials, and that's as far as you can go at that age, right, so we ended up being the best team in the province.
Speaker 2:I was a second year and then from that team, like a lot of guys went on, like we had a guy, mike Ford went to Michigan State University. There's a lot of guys that went on and played like BCJ or the KI up here. And then we had Matt Higgins who was a first rounder to Montreal and or the KI up here. And then we had Matt Higgins, who was a first rounder to Montreal, and we had Brad Larson who was, I think, a third rounder, played like 500 games in the NHL, and then myself was a second rounder and played some games in the NHL too. But like three guys from Vernon on a on a minor hockey league team, they end up going and playing the NHL, which is like unheard of Right that that team, because sometimes it's fun. It's rare but it but it does happen from.
Speaker 1:Time to time. That's. That's awesome. Yeah, it's a small town. It's a lot of guys from a little little town.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was crazy yeah, we had that little. It was a little hotbed here in the okanagan for a while, just kind of kept producing guys, um, your 16 year old year, I mean, well, let's talk about that 16 year old, because that that's a huge. I mean that's a huge move, right, it's, it's, it's just a really big move. And uh, you're away from home. You, you said your parents did they have a house there at the time? Were you or were you building?
Speaker 1:uh, my parents bought a house up there so, um, my mom went up with me at 16. Okay, so you didn't have to build it. I didn't, I never built it up, but we built it like players with us. We had a one or two with us um majority of my time there, so that must have helped with the transition, I would assume. Oh, yeah, it was nice and became real good friends with some of the guys over the years and, um, yeah, guys you know obviously still keep in touch with today yeah, no, that's great.
Speaker 2:I remember, uh, like for me, I, I was, I went to penticton as a 15 year old, so my mom came with me that year, um, playing with 20 year olds and stuff, and I, I, I wasn't like completely naive to junior hockey and you know what's going on, sort of, with the social side of it. But then the next year I did billet with with, uh, with a family that I'm still, you know, still in contact with today and uh, uh, my, my billet partner was Frank Evans, who was a 20 year old old, so I was a 16 year old. Coming in Spokane kind of was like the wily organization, because they knew that the Postons were like this amazing billet family. They didn't want to lose them, but they were going to step away because they'd done it for so long and Frank was going to leave, so like, oh, let's bring this Padolan kid in, you know, a young guy, maybe they'll, maybe they'll like them and they'll stick around, right.
Speaker 2:So I came in there and I remember the very first weekend the billets were like classic, like, so they were a Mormon family too, right? So they're like okay, no booze in the house, right, okay, no swearing. There's only three rules no booze, no swearing and no girls at the house unless we're here. And I'm like, okay, like I'm all serious, right, I'm living with this new family, everything else. And so they. They ended up leaving for something that very first weekend and frank evans within like 30 minutes, where there's girls at the house, there's beer in the house and I'm sure somebody was swearing. So I'm like, oh my gosh, this is junior hockey here we go?
Speaker 1:did they build long after that? Did they continue to build it up for that long?
Speaker 2:yeah, they did. I guess it wasn't. I guess it wasn't unnormalnormal for Frank or whatever. They came back and there was no sign of anything. I ended up staying with them for the four years I was there with the Fossens. Like I said, they're fantastic people. Those connections are something that you don't forget about either when you're in that spot.
Speaker 2:The 16-year-old let's get back to that WHL as a 16 year old is not an easy league. Um, I don't know what it was like in 07, but I'm sure it was still a pretty tough league. It's not as tough as it was, you know. I just mean from the physical side of it. And you know, like the fighting, I remember I fought like me, like I fought over 10 times I think it was like 14 times or something as a 16 year old and it went down every year. But but that was just kind of the way the league was, and if you didn't stand up for yourself or your teammates, you were kind of just you were the pariah a little bit right. So sometimes you just had to do what you had to do. But there's a lot of adjustments there. I mean it looks like you had a really solid year offensively. What do you remember about your?
Speaker 1:16-year-old transition year. I was just talking about this recently with someone about. You know, a lot of 16 year olds typically don't get, uh, you know, I would say, a real good role on a team um, and I was lucky enough to to get that just with the timing of the club, of where the Chiefs were at at the time and um them trying to build up um kind of a group of players to um I mean we won, ended up winning my second year. So we were okay that first year. But I just was able to kind of establish myself as a player that year and get into, get into spots you know I was thankful for because, like I said, it wasn't, I mean, necessarily always happening to players or, you know, at the caliber of a 16 year old. So I, I, I got in on the power play and I was playing.
Speaker 1:You know I typically played center but I played with some good guys. I played with Jason Bowman, who was a great player. I played with him for quite a few years there. He was a prolific scorer and junior and played in the NHL for a couple hundred games. He helped me. I'd like to think I helped him a little bit too. It was good. I'm thankful for it because I established myself as a young player and I was able to come in my second year and really kind of take more of a leadership role as a 17 year old. So that was a big transition year but I was able to play along, which is great.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, I mean minutes matter, right, and that's where some guys get, get stuck. You know as far as uh, what doesn't help with the homesickness if you are building right now, you're a 16 year old and you're maybe you're not in the lineup, you're not getting the minutes you're used to, and everything just becomes tougher. So at least when the hockey piece is getting taken care of a little bit easier, it takes a little bit of stress off the player. Um, next year, yeah, so the next year, yeah, you step in and and uh and all the way to the Memorial Cup, which is also your draft year. So I mean, whether the Bantam draft was kind of on your radar and whether there was any pressure around, that probably seems like you were more not under the microscope as a Bantam, you know you're sort of doing your thing and maybe not feeling any type of heat. Was that a little different for you as a second year in the league and now, knowing that NHL teams are watching you and you're on the radar?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a little different, I mean obviously becoming a little more mature and knowing kind of what's at stake and what could happen. Going into that year, I mean I had a real good coaching there too. I played for Bill Peters my first two years there, so he was there when I was 15 too. I got to know him a bit there when I came up there for a few games, but he was just a really good person for me to be under as a young man, Just from the details of the game to just being accountable, to work ethic, to just commitment to the little things in the game.
Speaker 1:And I mean he had his way with doing that with everyone on our team because everyone bought into a system which I mean which worked really well and it was so, along with the coaching and just realizing that I mean there was a lot ahead of me and I was, you know, I, you know, obviously, winning my draft years is almost picture perfect. I mean it was. Nothing could have went a whole lot better that way. And you know I was Memorial Cup. I mean we won our last nine games that season the Western Conference final, we went to game seven versus Tri-City and then we swept the finals, swept the Memorial Cup. So we were playing well and it was just, I mean, everything just fell right into place, uh, before the. Uh, that summer I got drafted to Calgary, so it was uh, it was awesome, it was a lot of fun. That's fantastic and uh.
Speaker 2:And so what was that draft process like, like for you, like, as far as you know, post Memorial Cup, were you getting flown around the interviews, the draft? How'd that all go for you?
Speaker 1:oh, speaking of that. So our Memorial cup was in was in kitchener, ontario, so we, we won there and this is this was actually kind of tough because we won the memorial cup and the whole team flew back to spokane to celebrate and I went straight from kitchener to toronto for the nhl combine. So I didn't even really get to enjoy it with my teammates for a few days until I got back. So it was, uh, that was a little bit tough, but I was obviously in no place to really go fitness test at my best because I mean, I had just gotten, you know, done playing within days before, I mean, I think the combine was within four or five days after the final memorial cup final. So I, uh, I went straight there and then, um, I'd like to think that went pretty well.
Speaker 1:That, you know, with the testing and the interviewing process was was really something, something that I, you know, never really experienced how they they can really, you know, corny and grill you and ask you questions that kind of throw you off and get you thinking. So, uh, did all that and then ended up back in Spokane for a while and kind of just prepared for the draft and I went to the draft with my parents. My agent thought I could possibly be an out, maybe a late round first round pick. So we did go. I was in Ottawa that year, yeah, and I did not go in the first round. I I mean I had no regrets going. It was an awesome experience and I mean I think if you have a chance to get drafted you should go because it's I mean, it's just a cool experience to be around at all and, um, just to experience all the people there and all the teams.
Speaker 1:It was just looking back on it, it was. It was a lot of fun that's super cool.
Speaker 2:Uh. So what was the expectation your personal expectation, it sounds like about the draft? Uh, because I've heard a few stories on here mine included where you know you expect one thing and another thing happens, and it can be not the best day, you know, and, and whether that means 10 picks or whether that means five rounds of expectation, you know and it does matter. So, being there and maybe thinking outside chance first round, you ended up going to the second round, I think. What did you go? 40? 48. 48. Yeah so 48, still kind of midpoint of the second round. What was that whole like that timeline like for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. I mean, my agent was pretty straight on with what he said. He said there was an outside chance and there was one team it was how he told me after the draft it was the atlanta thrashers. At the time he said they, I think they had the 27th or 28th pick. He says I was in the mix with a few other players and they ended up going with someone else. So I, uh, I I entered back in and it was.
Speaker 1:I was thinking that maybe because I grew up right here outside of anaheim, I thought the Anaheim Ducks possibly were going to take me in the second I think they had a few picks before I was drafted and ended up taking me. So I was a little thrown off by that, but I didn't really know, I didn't have an expectation of what team was going to take me. You know, when you're there you kind of think I didn't interview with every team. But when a team that you interviewed with it comes up on the board, you're thinking, okay, how did that go? What do they ask?
Speaker 1:And because the second round goes, I mean, a lot quicker, it's a much quicker process, so it kind of, you know, snap the finger a bit more. So you think about okay, I'm in the next one, and then calgary. I didn't really. I, you know, I'm sure they got to see me play a lot being in western canada and whatnot in junior hockey, but I I didn't really know that they were going to pick me and you know it all happened pretty quick. They call your name and you get up there, right yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 2:I'm looking at the names, like that was a stacked draft actually, hey like it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was a lot of good players in the draft.
Speaker 2:Yeah for those listening like first overall that year was stephen stamko. Second drew dowdy zach bogosian, alex peter, angelo, luke shen, uh, josh bailey, tyler meyers still playing. Eric carlson, jordan eberly, john carlson, jacob markstrom, roman yosi holy, talk about a stack d I was.
Speaker 1:I was going to say a lot of top-end defensemen were in that draft. Yeah, wow yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm going to take a break in the action here, and this break is sponsored by Elite Prospects, the gateway to hockey Online. Since 1999, eliteprospectscom is the number one statistical hockey resource, serving over a million unique visitors weekly. It offers the most informative hockey player database on the web and has the most reliable transaction tracker available For youth hockey players. Ep is your very own online showcase to highlight your achievements and help secure future playing opportunities. Coaches, scouts and schools at every level of the game. Consider Elite Prospects their one-stop shop to discover future stars, hockey fan crazy about the NHL, the draft and your team's top prospects. There's no better source than EP Ringside, providing insights and analysis on players worldwide through written features, video breakdowns, interviews and more. Head to EliteProspectscom now and experience your gateway to hockey. Another exciting partner here is Elite Prospects, obviously, just read their ad there. They are also joining UMH 68 in the fashion they talked about there for youth hockey players and as EEP is being their online showcase. What's really exciting about the UMH 68 Invitational is that any player that comes to the event will have their stats from that event. Whether a goalie player or a position player, they will have their stats in their profile forever, so it ranks you in the Elite Prospects world, your stats will be tracked there. The historic stats of the event will be tracked there. If you happen to win a UMH All-Star Award which is given out to the top three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie of the tournament, that will be recognized as a recognition through Elite Prospects. There's a lot of fun stuff happening there for the players with the at the umh 68 invitational through elite prospects. So I'm really proud that that elite is recognizing uh or ep is recognizing the umh 68 as a as a premier hockey event and something that they want to get behind and follow, because they obviously don't do that for uh for the vast majority of tournaments out there. So really happy to align with Elite Prospects and, yeah, get in there and get your profile verified or even get the premium account, which really sets you up to manage what you look like to the hockey world. So let's get back to the conversation with mitch wall.
Speaker 2:So I was 31st, so and and that was the thing too like I was, maybe actually toronto shook my hand that day and said I was going to be their first rounder, like the night before, and that they were going to trade up for me and I thought I was going to be a 14th overall selection and I'm going 31st. So, like those, that 15, those 15 picks or whatever, felt like 15 hours and it was. I was going to be a 14th overall selection and I'm going 31st. So, like those, that 15, those 15 picks or whatever felt like 15 hours and it was tough sitting there Right. But beyond that, I always, you know, I think we all kind of feel like, especially at that time, that things were going to go differently as far as, like the NHL path and you know and all the things that happened. I ended up playing 41 games.
Speaker 2:Thought, like I said in the podcast, at the beginning, I felt like it was going to be a thousand and it never did. I mean, there's a lot of things that change and can change. You know that go wrong or go right, or timing with the organization or, who knows, maybe a missed opportunity. What for you, do you feel when you look back? And you're still playing pro the way, and this is not a shot, and I hope you don't take it that way because I'm in the same boat as you but, like I'm sure you wish there was an NHL game on your resume. Are you sure you wish that you were in the NHL, like what? What happened with you at the beginning there, after you got drafted in your next steps, that, that, um, that.
Speaker 1:That has you you know where, where your career ended ended up going yeah, I mean, there's just been so much that has gone on since since that time and it's um going back to just from being drafted. It was, um, a lot happened from there, um, and so I played as an 18 year old spokane uh, we had a really good team that year as well. Um, that was actually the year that a lot of teams actually kind of thought maybe we would have a chance to win, and we ended up winning the year before. So we lost in the second round of Vancouver that year, but it was, we had a chance that year as well. And then I came back as a 19 year old. I played with Kyle Beach on the line and we had a great season together as both 19 year olds. Then we went on to pro hockey at that point.
Speaker 1:But so, going into my 20 year old year, I had a lot of things happen to me. So I played, I think, eight or nine games and I got a crazy um infection in my ankle and I ended up in the hospital for uh weeks over this. And then I, uh I and my ankle was. You know, I thought it was really scary. I didn't know if I was gonna lose my foot or lose my bottom half of my leg or what I ended up recovering from that. It took a long time I I, because I only played. I think it was like 15 games that year or so. Um, I came back and then that's your first pro year you're talking about now yes, this is my first professional year in an amateur at the time, right, right.
Speaker 1:So I um from there I came back and I think it was my second game back. I got this is on youtube, you don't want to see it I got completely flattened and knocked out from a hit in abbotsford and land in a pool of blood and I was starfished on the ice and I broke my broke my whole side of my face here. I had a very bad concussion, uh, I had surgery on my cheekbone and, um, that was just something that really set me back and I missed, I mean, almost my whole first year pro at that point and I I barely I mean, I played a little bit in the beginning and I had, like I said, that ankle thing, this concussion thing, and that was really bad for me because I tried to come back, for, I think a few months later I got bumped again and they just shut me down for the rest of the year. So that was my first year pro.
Speaker 1:And you know how it is, like you say, after that point, like you said, right place, right time where the organization's at. So I was drafted by Daryl Sutter in Calgary and after that first year pro they completely cleaned house and all new staff came in and I'm a guy who you know I thought they had a lot of value in as a second round pick and you know I was pretty I mean, I'd like to think I was pretty highly touted for them, but I didn't really play as a first-year pro, as a 20 year old. So they come in, the new staff it was John Weisbrod, jay Feaster. We came in as the, as the, as the management staff, and I just wasn't, I just wasn't one of their guys and unfortunately I just never was able to catch up and get back on my feet and didn't came in and I wasn't positioned as really how I thought I would be. And you know it's not a sob story, it's just like you said, it's right place, right time, position, reality yeah, it was just the reality of it. And so I didn't get to play, I mean a little bit in the aperture in my second year and then at that point I was actually loaned. So I wasn't traded and I don't know if a lot of people know exactly how that works.
Speaker 1:My second year I was loaned to the Hamilton Bulldogs but I was still a property of the Calgary Flames. But I was playing for the Montreal Canadiens' American Hockey League team and at the time I thought it was going to be great for me, I was going to get an opportunity to play. Hamilton, I think, was in the bottom of the league when I went there. But looking at it from their perspective, I was just kind of another guy to just fill in if they needed me guys. Actually they didn't have any ties to me. They had no investment in me and I wasn't a draft picker. They didn't give me any, you know, signing bonus money.
Speaker 1:So they were going to play their guys over me, no matter what, like because they invested in draft picks, signing bonuses, they were paying guys. So like why would they play a calgary prospect instead of their own guys? So it made sense. So I went there and I'm pretty much burned two years so and then you have one year left and it just at that point I was kind of just pushed out. I I mean, calgary didn't invite me to their summer camp that year. Wow, yeah, it just went like this from kind of on a high to a fast down.
Speaker 2:Yeah like welcome to pro hockey right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was my introduction. And then they finally traded me like at the very end of my third year at Philadelphia Flyers and I played just for a quick minute.
Speaker 1:What was it at the time no, third year it filled out the flyers and I played just for a quick minute in. What was it at the time? No, it was Adirondack. That's where their American League team was, and we were our last place team in the league, I think. So it was rough. It was rough and then you know after that your entry-level contract is done and you've got to kind of feed for yourself now. So it was uh. My experience wasn't the best.
Speaker 2:That happens fast, right, like that, and that happens. Like that happens really fast.
Speaker 2:Uh, meaning like from prominence, or the one line that I remember somebody told me was like from prospect to suspect, you know, like that's what yeah, that goes quick and and I don't know when that, when that changes, right, because even from a personal example, like which I've said in this podcast a few times, when I was like, when I got to, let's say, lowell, even so, I'd been traded twice at that point, I was traded to toronto and I was traded to la and la had me in the minors and, uh, I don't know, I was like still 23 or something or 24, like well, young, you know, I mean still young enough and still producing at the AHL level, but it was almost like I'd been classified as an AHL or by somebody at that point, you know, and it's like, okay, not anymore.
Speaker 2:And yet I'd see these guys coming out of college that were even a year older than me, like the one, the one that I remember specifically, and it's Jason Krog, who's a good guy and he was a hell of a player, like he won the Hobie Baker, uh, but he was a year older than me and he came to Lowell and like had less points than me after signing like a million dollar deal, yet he was a prospect at that point, right, because he was new and I was a four-year pro that hadn't quite made it yet, so I wasn't a prospect anymore. Like it's just so weird when you get into that when you get into that world right About, like perspective and who has you where and all that stuff.
Speaker 2:But let's talk to you because injuries are tough, man. Like injuries are super tough. The only real big injury I had both of them were in Germany and it was at the end of my career. I had a bad concussion and I had a bad shoulder that I had to have surgery on and I wasn't the same after either one of them. I had a bad shoulder that I had to have surgery on and I wasn't the same after either one of them. As a player, you know, no matter what, I tried to do everything I could to come back but it just wasn't quite the same. I just felt it wasn't the same. You know you having that big hit there early on, what was your recovery like from that concussion and do you feel that you ever really did get back to you know your best?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a hard question to answer, just because I never really got to the level I wanted to in North America. So I feel like I've paved out a pretty decent career in Europe. But just from that standpoint, yeah, it was tough to recover from, especially as a 20-year-old. Going back to that year too, too, I would have had a lot of opportunity that year. We had a very young team in abbotsford and I would have been able to play a lot as a 20 year old. So, looking, looking back on that, it was tough because I might not necessarily would have had the point production stuff. We didn't have a great team, a young, a young team, but it was.
Speaker 1:It was something where I could have really gotten the experience to play a lot at the American Hockey League when I was a young man. So just that, and I lost a lot of experience, I think, because, as we know, it's just hard to get those minutes at that level. So that was tough but it took a while I really did. I didn't really think I got to like back on my feet until the next really year, like get playing consistently. When they sent me down to Utah that year, I got into kind of a. I was playing in the East Coast Hockey League at that point but I got into kind of playing with some jam in my game again, scoring some goals and feeling like I was a player again, which was nice. Of course you didn't want to be at that at that level, but it was it was. It was good because I was able to play and kind of get some confidence in my game and myself, which was nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no for sure. The yeah. And what a pro like, what a formative year, you know, like that first year pro and only play 17 games, you know, and and, and it's not like you're in the background being able to train and stuff, like with the injury you had, it's you know you're just trying to recover and let your body heal. So you're really losing a year of development. And then I can totally empathize with you on that change, your regime, which I, you know, I had that one year when I, when I got traded to Toronto, I traded for Kirk Muller straight up and then, and then that's like two months later cliff fletcher got fired, the gm like that's a huge difference, right.
Speaker 2:Like then a new gm comes in and like they have their own way of doing things and their own players that they like and you can kind of do whatever the heck you want and there might not be that opportunity there and that's the thing that, um, I think the average fan doesn't quite get. You know, like that you do. Well, someone has to like you there and if they don't like you, they can. You know, for whatever reason, there can be no reason, right, they just it's not your guy Like they never traded for you and they want to put their own stamp on the organization. So I mean, it is what?
Speaker 1:it is. I'm still experiencing that at 35 years old, still playing, you still see it. You need people in your corner in an organization that will either brought you there because they got skin in the game, vouch for you, or you know that they believe in you in some capacity. And if you don't have that, it's hard. You can always change people's mind, but it's hard to do sometimes, especially when there's a lot of guys on the team and your spots are kind of log jammed that you know that could be a spot for you.
Speaker 2:so it's um, it's tough and I don't want to make it, make it sound like people disempowered out there, I mean, because that's a little bit the way I felt as a pro, and the thing that I understand now with with the, you know, the ability to reflect, is you do still have the power to influence for sure, you know, I mean, but for me I always felt that, okay, if I can do my thing on the ice, like on the ice, like that's really where my focus was was like, how am I playing? What am I doing, right? How am I providing value? And and I was doing that, but I wasn't necessarily buying into the relationships that you just talked about, right, I wasn't necessarily buying into the details that you just talked about, right, I wasn't necessarily buying into the details, uh, you know, before practice, or hanging around the rink, or having the conversations with, with people that I should be having conversations with, and and I don't mean that in like a contrived type of way, right, but just in a way of like being a really good pro up and down, you know, like up and down and uh, and that's one of the things that I think is like so invaluable for guys to understand is like that piece of the puzzle. Right, like that.
Speaker 2:You need to set yourself up with as many ways as possible for success. Right, like, as many ways as possible. So, yes, you need to be able to play, but you also need to play in a lot of different ways. Like you have to be able to produce offensively. You have to be able to play, but you also need to play in a lot of different ways. Like you have to be able to produce offensively. You have to be able to kill penalties If somebody asks you to. You have to be able to play more than one position. Right, like you have to take that whole thing and you have to be as robust as you can.
Speaker 2:Then you also need to have alliances and allegiances and people who are going to go to bat for you away from the rink, and you do that by having details and do that by doing these other things. So there's always things you can do. It's never going to be perfect, right, and you might not get through, but I just I keep trying to get guys now like just keep stacking those blocks. You know, keep stacking those blocks, um, because what's the best you can do and the only thing you can do, and anything else is just wasted energy. So I don't know, like, how do you relate to that now as a 15 year old pro? Like, do you, do you? Do you see sort of the value in that now as well?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, I'm still seeing it at 35 years old. I mean you nailed it on the head with that one. I feel like that's. I mean, just like you said, you want to give yourself every opportunity to succeed and every opportunity to be in the highest place you can be with the staff and who who controls your ice time and who controls you know a lot for you. So it's as long as you're controlling what you can control and not worrying about the rest, and putting your best foot forward. I feel like that's what you have to do and, like you said, the little details of you know don't be late to meetings. Be the guy that they see.
Speaker 1:The commitment level is really high, and not just the commitment level but the passion for it. You want to be out there, you want to get better, you want to improve and those are. Those are all the things that I mean as a young kid. For sure they want to see, but I mean at the pro level. I mean that's just you're doing everything you can to position yourself at the highest point possible.
Speaker 1:I mean it's not always. I mean there's countless amount of guys that I've seen that, wow, why didn't this guy make it and how did this? How did this guy do it and it it's uh, it's a lot of the time. It's just, it's the commitment and just the details and the work of it, because it's not always the most skilled guy who's going to make it. At the end of the day, it's um, it doesn't have the best shot, it might not have the best you know skating ability, but um, iq, but it's the guy who you know will commit to what he needs to do to get to the highest point, the highest level he can as a player.
Speaker 1:So yeah that's a good point. I like what you said there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah it's the one thing when I'm working with players now and for players out there listening like this again, this is not contrived, it has to be authentic and that's why I try and teach from like the bottom up, like why, like this is an action to do, but this is why you're doing it. And the thing is is like and I take this from my personal standpoint like I've I really operated as like a solo entity, right, like meaning I would definitely work out and I worked my ass off, but I wouldn't really include people in that journey, if that makes sense. You know, like I had my people I worked out with, but I was, I was the lone wolf. I kind of always have been. You know, that's just sort of the way I operated.
Speaker 2:And I say now, like having the conversations with the coach and seeing you know where, where you're at with them, you know, how are you helping the team? How are you not helping the team being where you're at with them? How are you helping the team? How are you not helping the team being able to share what you actually want, like being brave and vulnerable enough to say this is my goal. Right, I want to be whatever. What do I want to be. I want to help this team win 50 games this year and I want to be a first-team all-star. That's what I think I can do this like where do I need to get better? How do I, how do I, how do I get my acceleration up so I can?
Speaker 2:I can be a more multidimensional player, like when you get that type of a, an inner circle, right, like an inner circle of people that you're including in your journey, that understand what you want.
Speaker 2:They want to support you in getting that and, like to your point, you're dedicated and committed, like you're not just you know, it's not fluff, you're not asking the questions, just ask the questions, but you're actually going to be doubled down and and do the things. Now you've, like, built this support team that is really invested in you being amazing and that's what you want to be. Right, and again, that's a huge difference there, because now that guy is watching for your success. The coach is, oh, where's his improvements being made, right? Oh, maybe I'm going to give him this opportunity here. So I just think, like that stacks the deck a little bit more positively for you, right, like when you bring good people in and the good people can be people within your organization. They can also be people elsewhere, but it is definitely takes a village, I think, to do it right, you know not not the lone wolf mentality.
Speaker 2:I I agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree fully. I mean it's the more people that are helping you and in your corner. I mean I just see the more value in it, yeah, more value and find good people.
Speaker 2:I mean trust good people. But listen and be curious about your own development. What would you call when I'm working with players? I call it their personal operating manual, right, like players. I call it their personal operating manual, right, like, cause, we're all different. You know, like, how do you? How does Mitch play his best? You know, consistently, Uh, what have you found out about yourself over the years? That maybe is a little bit, I don't know. It doesn't have to be individual to you, but, like, do you think that there's anything about your preparation or your, uh, your training in the off season, or even your approach to games that, uh, that you find unique to yourself?
Speaker 1:I think about. I mean I just feel that, like when you know that you put in the work, I mean it brings a confidence to you. It brings more confidence, knowing that you're prepared to play and that you're ready to get. You know the level you need to be at training camp and just for the season. That just brings a level of confidence mentally and that changes your whole thinking about yourself. You have have no, you're ridding of self-doubt and and anxiety and worries.
Speaker 1:And fit, I mean fitness testing. That's always something that I've always a lot of players dread every year, just because it's like you want to, you know you want to do the best you can, but I've never really tested well on the bikes and things like that. Those are things that, like you know you just if you can feel good about those things, it just it doesn't get, it doesn't have to creep. There's nothing that can creep into your head. That you're, you know you're making yourself oh, I wasn't ready for this or ready for that, and at the end of the day it's, it's what you can do on the ice and I understand like I'm just on the ice, I feel like I'm playing with just some jam in my game a little bit of a little edge to me.
Speaker 1:Even though that I am, I see myself as more of an offensive player. But I mean, over the years I've had to adapt to a little bit different roles, especially this past couple years. And, you know, being able to be versatile, not just a one-trick pony, and be able to. You know, I I was never really a penalty goal player when I was younger. I've kind of become one now. So it's like and it's maybe helped me prolong a little bit too, so it's uh, stuff like that, just being able to adapt along the way if you want to. You know, stay in the game and be in the game.
Speaker 2:I'm going to take one more break from the episode and we are going to be recognizing Iron Ghost Construction at this break, which has been a platinum sponsor for the UMH 68 Invitational, has been really, really involved in the local stuff I do here in Vernon, not only with my stuff, but Iron Ghost supports across the minor sports spectrum. Mr McKechnie has been been really, really generous with his time and and with uh and with with the funding for these different programs. He really likes to give back to you sports and and I couldn't be happier to be involved with him and to get his, his great company, out there and and hopefully this drops on some ears for somebody who's a decision maker out there in the uh. In the construction world, iron Ghost Construction is recognized as a top contractor in multiple industries, such as oil and gas, forestry and agriculture, from building turnkey production facilities that produce canola oil, biodiesel, condensate and oil to keeping up with industry changes in forestry, where new technology and equipment are replacing that of the past. Iron Ghost specializes in the main structures, with a large employment of iron workers, crane operators and millwrights. Iron Ghost has successfully completed projects in BC, alberta and Saskatchewan. So if that is the world you live in. I know a lot of hockey players and a lot of hockey enthusiasts are involved in that world. Iron Ghost Construction. Have it on your radar. Make sure they get a bid out. If you have a big job coming up and I know that they will serve you well. I know they've done a great job with the projects that I've heard about. And, again, if you can support somebody who supports you sports, I think that we should make that choice and invest wisely. So let's get back to the conversation with Mitch Wall. Let's get back to the conversation with Mitch Wall.
Speaker 2:I love your, yeah, the preparation, and I want to make a note there on an even player identity. Those are two good topics, I think, to chat about a little bit. The preparation piece like I, I tell athletes all the time that we usually get transfixed and really focused on results, and that's where a lot of our you know deposits get made for our confidence. Let's say it right. I mean if we're, if we're having success on the ice and you know, if we, if we deem ourselves to be offensive players and we're scoring goals or creating, creating assists and and, and we feel good about that, you know, and you're, you're a plus and you're blocking shots, you're not getting beat. We're feeling good about that, like those are the natural ways to to build confidence.
Speaker 2:But the thing is is like, well, what if you haven't played in that league yet, or you haven't even played a game there, or you're just going to a new camp?
Speaker 2:Or what if things aren't going great for the last week or two?
Speaker 2:Does that mean that you can't have confidence anymore and it's gone?
Speaker 2:And my answer to that is no. And because there's different ways that you can build it and one of them is, like what you're talking about, that people sometimes don't put enough um emphasis on or focus on. And that is like how ready am I? Right? Like when you look across the room, even in your own dressing room, and be like I work way, you know I got I got my shit taken care of more than this guy does.
Speaker 2:You know. You look across the ice of the other team and it's like I know no one one's here as ready as I am. No one's put in the hours on the bike or whatever as I have. Like it gives you an earned sense of confidence that isn't directly related to results. So I love you talking about that, because that piece and you can call it preparation whether it be like preparation of your body right, like physical preparation about how ready you are, or even if it is like your preparation, your pregame preparation, your postgame recovery, like if you feel that you have a process there that is elevated, that is beyond other guys around you, like that's an advantage.
Speaker 1:Right. I like what you said about deposits, like doing little things just to make deposits, just to know that those add up over time. They definitely add up and mentally they add up to you know, getting your head into a right place, cause it's as you, as you know, the game is so mental and it's you know you're you can be your best friend or your, you know, your own worst enemy in your head. So it's that's, that's a really important part of the game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, danny Breer comes back to mind. Uh, he's longtime nhl. I'm sure you remember that name is gm of the philadelphia flyers.
Speaker 2:Now, yeah, he was a. He was one of my first podcast guests, actually and and I remember him specifically saying, like he was a smaller guy, like I don't know five, eight, five, nine kind of size, and that was back in the early 90s when the league was huge, and he said that that turned out to be for him like his real, like his cloak of armor kind of right, that he he ended up getting like his mental routine and his physical routine got to such a standard that he felt that there was nobody on the ice that was as prepared as he was. Yeah, and and because he like, because he felt that on the ice, like now, his size wasn't a factor anymore, right, like he was more ready, he was more prepared. And and he felt that on the ice now his size wasn't a factor anymore, he was more ready, he was more prepared. And he said that was a huge competitive advantage for him or not. And whether the reality of that was true it didn't matter, right, because for him it was true.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, if it's in his mind, that's all that matters at the end of the day for him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you have to build that belief in yourself like that. And that's where it all comes from, right, that that personal belief. And if you've done things for yourself, then when you look in the mirror and you feel that way, that gives you the swagger right to go out there and to do the things. So, um, yeah, no, I, I think that there's real value to that and and you only really learn that I shouldn't say you only really learn that, but that's why it's so nice to be around success, right, to be around guys that are maybe beyond where you are in your career, whether it be for age wise or even skill wise. Because I know, every time you level up right or at least my experience was, you know, going from you know the bchl, the whl, that these practices are different. Oh, this attention to detail is different, right, going from the ahl to the nhl, oh, these guys prepare a little differently. You know, like I thought I worked hard before. Now it's like, oh, there's a, there's a different standard, right.
Speaker 2:So continuing to be curious about your, your own personal standard, and continuing to elevate that, I think that's a. It's a hard thing to do, but I think if you can actually like, as we're talking about it right now, for anyone listening there at home, like that's one thing I about with athletes all the time Like where is your standard right now and where do you think you can get to? Like, are you maxed out? And if you are, you're lying right. And where is your low point? Because I think when we can get into that ideation of like yeah, I can do more of this or I can do more of that, or I haven't given any attention to this, that's just again building that muscle of confidence, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:Those are really good points, really good stuff. I like that a lot.
Speaker 2:What was the other? I so you were. You were talking about the preparation aspect, and there's the other piece that I wanted to to to swing back on. You remember what that was? The preparation.
Speaker 1:And then, just then, we were talking about the commitment to the details.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the commitment to the details there was one point there that I wanted to highlight and I can't remember what it is now. I haven't talked to you about the World Junior. That must have been a high point too. I know that for me I was able to play for Team Canada, we won gold the one year Again echelon, kind of like you know, benchmark career point, you know like to be able to represent your country and do all that was like super cool. Um, what was the world junior experience like for you?
Speaker 1:yeah, it was, it was. You nailed it right there. That was a it was. It was awesome.
Speaker 1:Mine was in ottawa the year I played, so it was, um, you know, playing in a the year I played, so it was playing in a Canadian market. Fans were crazy. Great environment. Our team underachieved, unfortunately. We had a really good team. I thought we could have had a chance to do a lot better. We got upset by Slovakia in the quarterfinals. It wasn't expected by any means, so it was, uh, so I think we ended up finishing, I believe, fifth, but it was.
Speaker 1:It was a great experience. I mean, obviously, to put the U S sweater on um, we, I actually they took myself and my line mate from Spokane, grayson Bowman. They took us as a, as a pair, to play there together as well. And then, uh, so it was, we had a good team. I mean you look at that roster, there's a lot of a lot of nhlers on that roster. But, um, it was, it was. I mean, obviously you would like to do better, but it was just an honor to wear the jersey, so it was. I was just, it was great to be selected. I, I played at 18 actually and uh, and they didn't take me as a returning player at 19, which was a big surprise and it was a disappointment for sure, but I was thankful to play at least the one year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's wild, eh, yeah. Because, you had a good year too, right in Spokane that next year.
Speaker 1:It was my best hockey year, I'd say I ever had. Right, yeah, but it was, you know. Know, there's a lot of players, there's a lot of players that are, you know that again, different, like you said, we talked about this earlier just different staff and how they value you and you know they wanted I mean, they spoke to me and everything and they said they, they wanted me as a uh, you know, as a kind of like a top six or not at all. So that's um, that's kind of what they did. And they went with another, another group, and the staff changed, the coach changed whatnot, so it was, uh, it wasn't the same people, so it was, um, it was definitely a disappointment, but it was. I was definitely thankful to at least where I've been one year yeah, how invested are you are?
Speaker 2:are you in the spokane chief run right now? I know as an alumnus like I, I have my on it. I'm not watching them all the time, but it's really cool to see the success there. I'm a little more personally interested this year because my one single season playoff point record for Spokane was broken this year by Cat and then Crystal. So that was cool to see that record fall. And now I'm watching to see if Crystal can beat my 21. And he's kind of who knows? He still obviously has a chance, but he's one behind. So I've been watching a little more closely. How do you watch the Chiefs and root for them?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, over the years you get bits and pieces. I don't follow it that close. Obviously, this year there's been a little more excitement around the team and I mean I have not just from my time in spokane, but I have ties, obviously, that my wife's from just outside of spokane so we do go back to the area every now and again and um, rooting for him big time. Tough to see him down right now, but uh, I talked to um jay stewart there in the office still every now and again and uh, yeah, I actually got a call from spokesman just the other day.
Speaker 1:Just they wanted some uh, talk to some of the players from the 08 winning team because they they see it as kind of like a a similar style of team and kind of like the story path that they've kind of gone on from last year, our my first year, like we talked about earlier, my 16 year old year we were kind of a team that was okay and then a team that kind of took a huge step my second year and they they were explaining that's kind of like a similar story this team has had. So, uh, yeah, they wanted to talk to a few of the players from the 08 team. So it's, yeah, definitely been a little more invested this year rooting for him big time yeah, that's cool and that's how you give a shout out to my buddy, mike.
Speaker 2:mike edgehouse, who is a resident of cordelaine, idaho. So he's uh, he's been following the chiefs for a while and and was having a discussion about about the podcast. He listens to the podcast and saying that I needed a guest and he's like you should, you should interview Mitch Wall. He's like he was just in the spokesman talking about his 08 run and I'm like you know what I should, because I think he just followed me on Instagram, so I'll reach out to him.
Speaker 2:So that's kind of wild the way that whole thing all works. And here we are now chatting.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Spokestan was great. I mean I'm glad to see they're still there. They do a good job covering that team and it's fun to watch their success. Hopefully they can get it going here. But that Medicine Hat team looks deep and looks tough to beat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what I've noticed, they haven't even had McKenna in the lineup the last couple of games. So wow, yeah, that's wild. That's why we're home, it looks like right, and then they go back. Well, hopefully so. Do you have any?
Speaker 2:special memories from that run, like it was there any moments. Uh, the Memorial cup. I know you said you guys finished super strong and like looked like there wasn't even a blip on the radar. But uh, didn't you say you went to seven and the second round or something?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that spokesman article, that that uh, that's uh, I guess it was the way out of Western conference finals. It was versus tri city. That's still a series that I've I've never seen a series like this. In all of all of my career I never heard of one. We went to game seven. Five of the games went to overtime. I think three of them went to double overtime and the first two games were one zero in double overtime and the first two games were 1-0 in double overtime. That was the score it was. It was our team and their team. I think whoever won that series was going to win it. They were a great team too.
Speaker 1:We had Dustin Tokarski as our goaltender and they had Chet Pickard. It was a first round. It was a first round drop pick and they that was. That was quite the battle. Of course that's always been a rivalry, but that that year was a bloodbath. It was 1-1 going into the third period in Game 7. It was quite the series. We snuck away with the win in the third period in Game 7. Were you guys at home? No, we were on the road. That was amazing.
Speaker 1:We lost six at home. Justin Falk was telling his story. A player that we had on the team was telling his story in that newspaper article. I don't remember it clearly, but he did. He was talking about it in the article. We had to go home after the game on six, pack our stuff, come back to the rink and drive to Tri-City to stay over there for game seven. I guess it was hard. It was hard to do that transition because you play. I think we played the next night.
Speaker 1:So it was uh, yeah, we ended up winning on the road and then that was the turning point for us. We, um, we swept left bridge in the finals and then, uh, which they had a really talented team too, and then we were just kind of uh, I mean, in everyone's eyes it seemed like we were just kind of a throw-in at the memorial cup. No one really saw us as like a, as a team that really even had a chance, and we went in and just swept it. We went 4-0 and we beat the kitchener rangers twice and they had a team that was, I mean, look at that roster half the team was end up being all-stars in the nhl. So it was uh, we uh. Yeah, it was quite the run, but that was a great memory. I mean, I myself and Jason Bowman had a great um Memorial cup. We were, I think, both on the uh, the all-star team at Memorial cup, so it was. It's just a. It's a memory that'll always be at the top of the list, oh that's awesome.
Speaker 2:And maybe let's just talk about Bill a little bit, because Bill was a guest on the pod. I thought he was fantastic. I didn't really have much. I didn't know him much, except that I knew that he came in relatively soon after I'd left. Babcock was there, and then Bill came in and Kevin Sawyer was there with Bill, I think, for a while and heard a lot of good things. But this was also when I interviewed Bill. It wasn't too long after the whole, um, kind of whatever you want to call it scandal at the nhl level and all that stuff. So I I didn't know if I should interview him. I didn't know anything about him, right. I I heard from a lot of people that he sounded like he was an act, like a character guy, right, like that. Maybe the story needs to be told a little differently. And so from a podcaster perspective, I'm like oh, do I want to do this?
Speaker 2:like you know, like I don't know where this is going to go, but I feel like you know he should have an opportunity to share his story and, anyways, I was super impressed with the guy, like I, you know he answers text messages on the phone, like he's super approachable, like the guys that play for him now seem to love him. Uh, what's your, what's your memory of Bill?
Speaker 1:yeah, he for me. He was a big part of just my whole process of coming to Spokane, getting drafted to the NHL. I was very fortunate to play for a coach with that much stature. He learned a lot. I mean, you said you played for Mike Babcock. Yeah, they were very similar in just the way they do things talk really to be honest, because I know obviously I was a big fan of Babcock because he was coach of the Ducks when I was down here in Anaheim for a while. But yeah, he actually on Babcock for a second. He actually took my family out for dinner one night here in California to try to get us to go to Spokane. It was another Spokane put him up to that. So it was cool, I got to meet him. It was like a 14-year-old who went to dinner and he ended up coming over to our house. It was pretty cool. It's still Beach California here.
Speaker 1:But back to Peters, but he was just, he was a great coach for me to be under as a young man, just to know kind of just what it took to become a junior player and then I didn't have my whole junior career but just to kind of become a end up being a pro player Cause he just he had a way of just like making guys like commit to what he wanted us to do and how, how we wanted to play, and everyone bought into it. Everyone was so like would hold each other accountable, hold themselves accountable. It was something you don't really see that a whole lot. I've played on a lot of teams. I've had a lot of coaches and I haven't had one like Bill Peters since and I really enjoyed him. He was great for me. He's a very good man.
Speaker 2:I think he knows the games very well and he's obviously a very successful coach. Yeah, that's awesome. Maybe we'll finish this with your. You know, the move to Europe, I know.
Speaker 2:For me, maybe I'll just start, start with that, like I, I left originally because I felt that I should kind of needed a reset, almost like a reinvention. You know, like I, we talked about that prospect to suspect, like I felt like I was kind of in that suspect mode and and maybe if I went over to to Europe and and had some success there, you know, like I've seen, I had seen guys do that, you know and then be able to come back and, you know, sign a new free agent deal or do whatever and get another shot at the NHL. And that was, that was really what my idea was when I left. I left relatively young, at 25 too, or something, and and then I got over there and and Rick and, to be honest, fell in love with it, like it was. It was just like the lifestyle being in a new, you know, in a new country.
Speaker 2:It was also nice that they wanted to extend my contract and you know, there was some security there and and I had to sort of say goodbye to the NHL dream at that point, uh, but that was the sacrifice of like the trade-off, right, it's like, okay, like this is really good hockey still, uh, there was a lot of things to really like about it, and then that was where I just ended up staying. You know, uh, what? What did you enjoy? Or what was your? What was your track like to get over to europe?
Speaker 1:yeah, I, um, I went over after my. So I played my entry level year for three years and then I I went over actually for a tournament with red bull salzburg in austria. I played in that european trophy tournament and, um, it's just like. Now it's called like it's the champions league now, but I played in that for a little just to kind of get a taste of what europe was. I honestly I was, I didn't know anything about it, I had no idea where I was even going or playing. I it was something that I just I was brought available to me. I was like I'll try it, just to see what it's like.
Speaker 1:And at the time, like I said, I just my education of European hockey was just not there and I didn't ever really think of playing over there. So I did go over there and do it, and not that I didn't like, and I just I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ready. I just I felt like I needed to come back and play at least another year or two at end states or canada, and I did that. I ended up coming back and I played. I played two more years. I didn't get much in the american hockey league at that point. So when I was 25, I was like, okay, I want to keep playing and try to, you know, maybe build something new and like you's kind of starting from the ground up again, like I kind of played my way to where I was and it went from that prospect to suspect and I, uh, I had a good opportunity in Sweden. I went to the Alaskan hockey league and, which is a very good hockey league, and and and uh, in Europe. It was a great starting point and I led the league in goals. So it was, uh, it was a great it starting point and I led the league in goals. So it was, it was a great, it was a great starting point for me.
Speaker 1:I played in a little town called Oskarsham, sweden, and, and I've been a journeyman. If you look at my resume, I've been all over the place over there. I've played in, you know, sweden, finland, back to Sweden, austria for a couple of years, slovakia, and I've been in Germany for five, six years now. So I've been around, so I've got to see a lot and, looking back on it, I'm really thankful because I've got to see so much experience, a lot, see a lot of different levels of hockey and, like you said, people really don't understand until they get over here or over there, I should say, of how good the actual hockey is over there and how talented.
Speaker 1:I mean, like you said, said in germany you're playing an adler mani and that's a a big time club. It's like that's, this is their nhl, like this is their highest level of hockey. So I mean it's, it's from that standpoint it's awesome. The fans, um, just the life experience you get with it and sometimes you get obviously the league breaks, and my wife and I have traveled all over europe and we wouldn't, have ever been able to do anything like that.
Speaker 1:Or, you know, see the places we've seen if we were, you know, full-time residents in the states. So we're, uh, we're thankful for it and it's been a great time of life of past 10 years and I'm uh, you know I'm getting close to the end. I realize that. So we're enjoying every minute of it while we have it good for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree, like it's uh, it turns out to be like almost like I don't know like a lifestyle career in in some ways. You know, like there wasn't the pressure like you mean, you still handled it like a pro, but it wasn't the same as playing in like the grind of the ahl or the you know the up and down, like I couldn't be traded in germany, which was something that I was, that I was becoming much more too comfortable with the north american level, right. So, like that security was nice. Like I said, the league breaks was nice. The only two games every week was like crazy nice. Um, you know, the lack of like having to pay bills and set that up was nice. Like there were so many things that were cool proximity to all these new countries and the way you traveled around and, yeah, hockey was, I mean, super grateful to hockey. Like it turned out to be a vehicle for you know, like a world tour. Almost right, I ended up I was able to play in japan too, for for for a hot minute. Like that was a really neat experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hockey for all you guys out there I mean I, of course, the nhl is the dream for everyone that's playing. But there's so many avenues that you never know where this great game can can take you and you know, just keep playing hard and and maybe you can be a 15 year old pro one one one day too, uh, like Mr Mitch Wall here. So I think that's great. I we, I know you got to run and I do too, but uh, really thank you for coming on uh so quickly, mitch, and sharing your story. Yeah, I love it, and I think maybe the moral is do as much as we can to help ourselves with what we got. But I know the less we can look back with regret the better, and that's really the way I want to set guys up, and sometimes it just doesn't work out as long as you look in the mirror and say, hey, I did my part, that's all we can do sometimes, right, that you know, I did my part you know that's, that's all we can do sometimes.
Speaker 1:Right, that's all you can do. And yeah, thanks for having me on Great, great connecting with you and getting to know you a bit, and I look forward to connecting with you more. But, yeah, happy to see you going to the Academy too, working with the guys in Coeur d'Alene, and yeah, we'll be staying in touch, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we didn't have a chance to chat about. But Mitch I'll just say briefly was with CDA, coeur d'Alene Hockey Academy, which is where my family and I are going to go here for the upcoming 25-26 season, and Mitch got the itch and got the phone call to come back and play. So he ended up leaving CDA a little bit earlier there instead of being the head coach, but maybe one day our paths will cross again down there, I know they've got a great thing going.
Speaker 1:I'm happy to be a part of it too. So, yeah, to the sean routine. Uh, jerry millmock, they're great, people ready there. They're uh, it's a great spot to be for for players, and I mean you have the um. What do you have? You have the training facility. You got a 30 second walk to the ice sheet. So I mean the school right right there too. I mean you got everything you need within within about 100 steps. So it's a. It's a pretty cool setup there and great people running it. It's fantastic yeah awesome man.
Speaker 2:Well, you have a great day. Enjoy california I wish you the best luck here this coming season, whenever you decide to do, and uh and yeah, we'll stay in touch sounds good, man.
Speaker 2:Thanks a lot, take care thank you for listening to the entire episode with mitch wall. Uh, mitch, uh really enjoyed the conversation. It was awesome to meet and uh, and kind of just get things rolling right away. Mitch was really uh, what's the right word? Easy, easy to get a hold of. Some guys aren't, some guys are uh, there's always something going on, there's always this, there's always that I get it. Life is busy and no disrespect to those guys, but it's really nice a breath of fresh air when, when someone like there's always something going on, there's always this, there's always that I get it. Life is busy and no disrespect to those guys, but it's really nice a breath of fresh air when someone like Mitch rolls in, says, hey, I'd love to do it, let's get it done. Boom, 24 hours later we have a call scheduled and we get it done. So that was great. Mitch really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:A lot to offer, a lot to offer the, the listeners, and and yeah, man, it's just. I think that you know Mitch and I have a lot in common, obviously. I think you know we both had successful careers, really successful careers that we're proud of, and we both probably feel that they could have gone a little different direction and and just recognize. You know, for the listener out there, how tough it is, and when we talked in that conversation about trying to do as many things as you can to give yourself the best chance at the success you want, it's really foolish to not do that For some of us. You know there's some blinders, right, there's some blind spots that we don't recognize as being important or we don't even recognize as being options under consideration that I would consider controllable. So, um, hopefully there are some pointers uh, in this, in this podcast here that you listen to, about areas that are within your control as players, uh, some areas that are within your control, potentially, as parents who are helping navigate, uh, the path and giving the support that you want for your players. But the more things, yes, that we can manage, that we can navigate, that we can feel empowered about taking ownership of, give you the best chance to have the journey through hockey that you want to have.
Speaker 2:It's much more than just going out and scoring a lot of goals or making a lot of saves or whatever the thing is that you do on the ice. When it comes to being a hockey player and not just playing hockey, you know what it means You've got to do the professional work. You have to look at yourself holistically from the ground up as a person and as a player. You have to look at the relationships around you. You have to look about how you're treating your teammates. You have to look at your practice, habits and your standards around work, ethic and compete.
Speaker 2:You have to understand how curious you are about development and improvement. You have to realize if you are committed to the growth mindset aspect of development and process, there are so many things that are within your control that go well beyond your wrist shot that I hope that was a little bit of an eye-opener for you guys Because again, as successful as Mitch and I were in our careers, I know there's things that we would probably want to undo and try again a little differently, and that's why the beauty of this platform works so well is because we can extend those types of lessons to those of you who are listening. So I hope that works and until next time, play hard and keep your head up.