WEBVTT
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Thanks for taking the time today.
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I appreciate it.
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It's uh getting connected in this uh in this new world for me is always a challenge.
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You young guys, less of a problem for sure.
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But uh thanks for taking the time.
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And I know you're visiting your mom and and uh with your family, and it means a lot to be for you to be able to take a couple minutes with me.
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I appreciate it.
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Well, I'm I'm happy to join you, Tom.
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And I think to be fair, I've been the one that's been causing the problems, but looking forward to having a chat for sure.
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Listen, you never caught caused a problem for me when we were together, that's for sure.
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I always look to you for for solutions.
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So uh thanks for that, by the way.
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Well, tell me a little bit the role that you have now.
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How does that affect what are you doing exactly with Anaheim?
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Yeah, I've had some different roles since I've retired.
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It's actually been 16 years since uh I was last skating on NHL Ice, so it's hard to believe.
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That's a long time.
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And I've had different roles in the last three, four years, I've been uh an advisor, uh special advisor to hockey operations.
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So kind of involved in most sort of facets of the business.
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Um talk with the coaches, do some player development with some of the young players, whether they're in Anaheim or playing junior in San Diego, spend some time watching them and kind of helping them out as well.
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And then talking to our general manager and you know, on that side of the business.
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So I've enjoyed it.
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I've learned a lot.
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Still trying to just help a team have success.
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It's sort of the same approach I took when I played was be part of a team, do everything I can to help everybody be at their best and have our team have success.
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I I learned from a lot of good people, whether it's teammates and people in the organizations that I played with about those things.
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And I'm just trying to pay that forward as I think what we should be doing in this life.
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So I enjoy it and uh it's been good.
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That's excellent.
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I I'm curious to know if, you know, do you as and playing a playing a bit of a role, at least in development, are you do you still have that inclination to help the D?
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Or it just doesn't matter.
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You know, you've got the experience, obviously, and the talent to help anyone, but how do you kind of lean when you're talking about development?
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Yeah, there's no doubt.
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There's no question.
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I'm more comfortable talking about a defenseman than than maybe a guy scoring goals or a penalty killing forward.
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There's no doubt about that.
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But I think in a broader sense, when you you know look back and you try and understand what helped you be, you know, a contributor to your team and all those things, like there's a lot of consistent things about being a good teammate and being a competitor and and sort of the fundamentals of hockey, I think, are the same for all players.
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Subtle little nuances to the game and little things that you know maybe a forward or somebody can teach them better than I can for sure.
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But I still think the bulk of what a young player needs to learn is similar across the board, I would say.
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Scotty, what do you think?
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When you watch games now, and of course you get a chance to watch a lot live, what's the greatest difference you see?
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I'm gonna put it to you two ways.
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Just in terms of how the game's played, number one, and then number two, the level of talent across the National Hockey League in general.
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And then I want to get, I want to dig back into sort of development in the first place, but how has the player changed, you know, and how has the game evolved since you last played 16 years ago?
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Yeah, I mean, it is a bit of time, but there's been big changes.
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I mean, I I think it's fair to say that I had an NHL career about 19 years, and there definitely was change near the end because I I think in 2004 or five is when they started calling penalties a lot more strict, you know, as far as the hooks and the holds and and that.
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And but I think it affected us as players a lot initially, but I still don't think we ever got to the point where we understood how to play the game, especially offensively, to take advantage of the way the game was being called.
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We still sort of had that old mindset that if I was carrying the puck up ice and I saw a big defenseman in front of me, I was gonna stay 10 feet away because if I got any closer, it was gonna be some paint, and I didn't really want any paint.
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Yeah.
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Whereas you watch these guys now that have grown up with that style of game, and they're not afraid to get right under your nose, stick handle, hold on to the puck.
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They know that you can't come with a slash or a cross check or the things that used to happen in the game of hockey.
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So I think that took time for those players to really understand what they could and couldn't do.
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For us, it was hard defending.
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We were in the box a lot early in those days, back in 05, 06, 07.
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But I still don't think we changed our game offensively much to sort of take advantage of the way the game was called.
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So I think that's just allowed individual skill to explode.
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I will say, to an extent where I think it can be a problem at times, where too much of the focus on the game is individual skill.
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I think you see the best players and the best teams still know how to play as a team, and they make each other better.
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And they're the best, hardest teams to beat, and they're the teams that win championships by playing that way.
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I don't think you win it as an individual.
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That that is one of the things that I think I learned about hockey and now very much appreciate is it takes a team, a true team effort to have success.
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And I would say that there is definitely a bit too much focus on the individual player and their individual skills rather than the team play and moving away, you know, with moving without the puck and what you're doing without the puck.
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I kind of throw it back to growing up when we had frozen ponds down, you know, in Cranberg here and we go out and just play scrimmage and you just learn how to play hockey with your teammates, how to play without the puck or play road hockey.
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I think there's less of that and more focus on individual skill, which when you watch the game is amazing.
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I mean, you look at even junior hockey, you watch the players in warm-up, they can handle the puck, they skate well.
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It's impressive to watch.
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But there is the other side of the game that I think has maybe been a little bit left behind in relation to that individual skill.
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That's really, really interesting you see that.
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As you're talking like that, I'm thinking to myself, okay, so I can pick up my handheld device and I can watch all kinds of incredible individual skills and guys doing stuff I could never ever dreamed of doing.
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And you do start to see a little bit of that manifest itself in the NHL, don't you?
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And certainly even up to that point in time, there's there's a lot of kids and guys trying things and women trying things that would never have been explored before.
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And it's interesting that you start to suggest, maybe to a degree, at least at the expense of the team outcome.
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And I don't know if what I'm saying is good or bad.
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I just have this realization in my mind that there is a lot of freelancing going on out there.
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And maybe need her to tell me if I'm wrong, but I mean, nothing's perfect.
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And I've had this discussion with others as well.
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And I talked to Jimmy Hiller the other day, actually, and and we were talking about this.
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And I'm a little fearful that we always sort of seek this perfection thing and we don't give players, and back in a day like yourself, you know, you could do it really anything you wanted to, but you were you were a good teammate first and foremost and played that way.
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But if we're looking for perfection, we then take away the opportunity for creativity and imagination and being inventive.
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And well, you've got one there in Paul Korea.
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Paulie was a had all kinds of imagination when he played, and that was the hardest thing to defend in Paul Korea.
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Great skater, great shooter, great playmaker, great player, sure.
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But boy, when he started to create things on his own, it was very, very tough to defend that.
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On one side, I I appreciate that the team concept has maybe paid the price here a bit, and yet at the same time, I don't think it's a perfect game.
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And that so to allow for that level of creativity is also important.
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So it's a a bit of a catch-22.
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Have you noticed when you're watching youngsters as you were in in the Okanagan over the years, do you see kids kind of l applying these skills that they're learning similarly, or do you see the team game or or what do you see in sort of the evolution of development of a young player?
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Yeah, I mean, I think those are all great points, and I would agree fully with them.
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I mean, you want players to be having fun, you want them to be trying things, working on skills.
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I mean, I don't at all say that that shouldn't happen by any stretch of the imagination, but I think again, you mentioned social media, you know, the the highlights that we can get.
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Now, I remember when I think TSN first came on TV and they would have Sports Center at night, and that gave you an opportunity to watch highlights.
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And it was, as a young kid, that was a dream come true.
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You know, you sit down after dinner and you watch the highlights of the NHL and the flashy plays that happen, the big go bulls.
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And now kids get a steady diet of this all the time.
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It's connected to their phones, it's everywhere they look.
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There's just nowhere you can really hide from that much focus on sort of the highlight real goals, which I'm I enjoy as much as anybody.
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There's no question.
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You see the skill level and and those things.
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I guess, you know, with all that focus, I think it does kind of pull you away from being part of a team and using that skill to not only make yourself more successful, but your teammate to be more successful, your team to be more successful, and being efficient and effective with what you're doing rather than just doing it for a clip and a highlight to show your buddies kind of thing.
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And it is difficult to balance both those mindsets.
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I don't think it's one or the other for sure.
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I think you can kind of be aware of both and and try and be good and learn both areas of the game to be the best player you can be.
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I I don't deny that at all.
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But I do think maybe at times we've swayed a little bit too much to that individual and not understand the importance of playing for each other, um, doing things to help your teammates rather than the focus being maybe on you as much as maybe it seems sometimes.
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So I think that's a good point.
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And we can't lose sight of the fact that we want these kids to create and and make things happen.
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And I I watched the PWHL, I watched the women's game, and the transformation there in the last 20 years, Scott, has been just phenomenal.
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And, you know, now that we have the PWHL and the women have got something to aspire to, I think it's just fantastic for the game, obviously, and it's gonna grow the the women's opportunities tenfold for sure.
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But I actually I really enjoy watching the PWHL.
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I enjoy watching women's hockey.
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It just there's a certain purity to it, and it is about the team, without a doubt, for sure.
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I like it when they try stuff.
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You know, you can start to see the confidence building in these women where they're legit best in the world.
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I'm excited about that, and I'm excited for little girls that want to that want to play hockey or play sports, and I'm gonna I'm gonna take you off on a on a little different tangent here.
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When you grew up, Scott, you and Robbie played, you were multi-sport athletes.
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What else did you play and how did that lend itself to not just being a an NHL player and a great great ones at that, but even just you know, good citizenship, whatever, you know, a good person.
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Obviously, your family's second to none.
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Just tell me a little bit about how you feel about that.
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Yeah, well, I uh I've you know thought about this before.
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We've talked about different people, you know, sort of the difference you know in the world today.
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We had no real choice.
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I mean, it just was the way it was.
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The rink, the ice came out of the Cranberg Arena in April and didn't go back in until end of August.
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So we had no, you know, we probably played road hockey through the summer a little bit and things like that.
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And I'm actually very thankful that that's the reality that I grew up in.
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So we did look around, we played a bit of golf.
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Probably the main sport both Rob and I played was soccer, played on the local Cranberg team and went to tournaments in Lethbridge and Sandpoint, Idaho, and different places, and that was kind of another one of our you know main sports.
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Played a bit of baseball, things like that, hiking and fishing in the summer, kind of get away from hockey.
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And but but everybody was doing it.
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It wasn't just us making a decision to do it.
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That was just the way the calendar laid out.
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You know, soccer shut down during the winter as well.
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There was no one playing soccer over the course of the winter.
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And and I'm actually thankful that I grew up in a world like that, whereas now, good intentions, people are out there providing opportunities to train, learn, and you know, in any sport, not just hockey, but it is a lot.
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And if you're in you're in one of these sports for the long haul, you know, I think that can provide wear and tear both mentally, probably and physically on your body.
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And I think that is a big advantage of doing different sports, doing different things.
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You know, it does teach you new things, different perspectives on all kinds of things, and and your body as well, moving differently, you know, maybe gaining strength where it was a weakness because of skating and and maybe giving a rest to parts of your body that maybe need it as well.
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So it's hard to do these days because it's sort of every you know, the better players are doing it.
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And if you want to keep up to the pack and make the team the next year, you feel like there's pressure to to keep going yourself.
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And I honestly don't have an answer to that puzzle.
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And it does increase, it increases the talent, the skill level gets developed.
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There's no doubt about that.
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I mean, you can see that every day you watch hockey for sure, like you said.
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But maybe we are giving up something on you know in other areas of our lives and our our physical growth as athletes as we get older.
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Here's an interesting one for you, Neater.
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I don't know, but I know some of the minor hockey coaches you had in Cranbrook personally as well, and you know, great people.
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But was there ever a time when you were young where you thought to yourself, I don't want to do this anymore.
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I'm done.
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Was there ever a time where you thought I don't think so.
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I sure don't remember it.
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I yeah, I remember having a lot of fun.
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I remember going to tryouts at the end of August, early September, you know, dusting the gear off from under the stairs and just being like so excited.
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Maybe you have a new stick or you know, a new piece of equipment and away you go.
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And you you were just so excited to hit the ice again.
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See your buddies.
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Obviously, in a small town like Crammerk, it was the same crew most of the time.
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And right, you know, back to having fun and playing hockey and the season wasn't super long.
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I mean, yeah, I honestly'm pretty sure I never never thought that.
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Definitely when I was playing here in town, absolutely.
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Yeah, definitely.
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What about now when I think back, we in Kamloops.
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I was so happy on December 1st of the year you and Sid came back, and I thought, okay, now we got a chance.
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And believe me, I had nothing to do with it.
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But when you went to Jersey, well, first of all, when you were in Kamloops, you played the game Scotty Niedermeyer hockey.
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And like z nobody had a problem with that, of course.
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And uh you did wonderful things for that entire organization.
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Well, sure, I'm sure you did occasionally.
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I'm sure occasionally you had a problem, but I had I had one I remember, but uh in any event.
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And that was flat outfind a great story nowadays, maybe for another time.
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But when you went to Jersey, you were a certain player, Scotty, and you know, I think was Jacques the coach then?
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You know what?
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He he didn't come until my second actually, my it was my third year after draft two years after I was drafted.
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Oh first year that I stayed there was Tom McVee.
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My second year was uh Herb Brooks.
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Okay.
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And then uh Jacques Lamaire came.
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Yeah.
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So you were always as good as defensively as you needed to be, because you were such a great skater and you had a great head for the game and this vision beyond anybody I'd ever seen before.
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So you're always good defensively, but you loved attack.
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You loved attacking, you loved moving the puck, you know, you loved joining the rush, you loved, you know, but just putting the pressure on the opponent as five guys for sure.
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And it seemed to me, if I remember right, that you you kind of, I don't know if you reinvented yourself or if your coaches had that kind of an effect on you, but you really, and maybe it was just a dynamic of the NHL neater, but you you really kind of became an outstanding 200-foot guy.
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And is that a fair comment or am I way off base there?
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No, I talk about that a lot actually.
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And and to be honest, going through sort of the adjustments and learning that I did in the NHL, I kind of look back on it and say, like, it was the best thing that happened to me as a player.
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At the time, I thought it was the worst.
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You know, at the time I was kind of frustrated and trying to figure it out like how do I make this work?
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How do I do what the coach wants, but I still think I can do these things.
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Like it really was a puzzle that that took me some time to kind of figure out as I was going through my career.
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I'd already been in the NHL, you know, a year plus.
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Jacques Lamaire came in as a very, you know, he knew what it took to win.
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This guy, part of so many Stanley Cups, right, as player and management coach.
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And he, you know, he really wanted a button-down game where defense was the commitment, and uh that was gonna be how we won.
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And the second year with Shock, we did win.
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We won the first Stanley Cup in New Jersey, 1995.
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That was my first Stanley Cup, and what a thrill.
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I mean, really, that's that's what you're doing it for, and and I felt no different than the rest of the team.
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Probably in the next couple of years after that, as you start maybe trying to spread your wings and do some more things and grow as a player, and at least in my mind, you know, that's when Jacques and I kind of, well, Jacques wanted us to play a certain way, and maybe I was pushing the edges and not doing exactly what what he wanted.
00:15:50.960 --> 00:16:00.559
And there was a period of probably a couple years at least where I was frustrated and discouraged by my game and maybe what I felt or, you know, I could or couldn't do as part of the team.
00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:01.440
But you know what?
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.399
I eventually Josh or Jacques was a stubborn guy.
00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.639
He knew what he liked and he stuck with it.
00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:19.600
He wasn't gonna, you know, bend to my wishes as a young 21-year-old hockey player thinking I knew what it took, where this guy'd been around the league, around the game his whole life and really did know what it took to win and the commitment it did for a team.
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:32.399
And I think once I sort of wrapped my head around it, got comfortable with making decisions when I was on the ice and how that could help and how that affected the team and my own my own success in play when I was on the ice and the opportunity it would give me.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:33.440
I settled into that.
00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.600
I was probably a little bit different player for sure.
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:42.159
But I I also think I just learned to be more efficient, you know, at picking the right moments to join the attack or to be aggressive.
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.279
And when that that time wasn't there, it wasn't time to make that play.
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:50.080
And I think that's a fairly reasonable sort of thing for any employer that they need to learn.
00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:55.519
I think we all love to score goals and be aggressive and be part of the offense, you know, when we're younger.
00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:03.120
And I think every young player has to score to go on a similar type journey and learning as they get older to be effective and help their team have success.
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:04.319
That's a great comment.
00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.960
And it's it's a bit of a trade-off, but it is.
00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:08.400
I'm thankful for it now.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:23.839
So well, the the other thing that I find interesting, Scott, is that you always seem to have this measure of poise and just whatever whatever fire drill was going on around you, you always seem to be calm and in control of yourself and you know the situation around you.
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.400
And and I I always really admired that.
00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:32.880
And I can remember um I think it might have been we did a world championship with Robbie, you and myself.
00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.559
And actually, that was uh 2004, I think.
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:37.519
Four or three.
00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:38.079
Was it three?
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.440
Oh 2004 it was.
00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.880
Okay, 2004.
00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.039
Yeah, and I think we were playing Sweden.
00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:53.279
Mike and I were coaching and uh Mike Polino and Mike Babcock, and I think we might have been, I don't know, we're going into the going in between the second and third period, and and uh Mike said to me, What do we do?
00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.559
And I just said, you know what, just let the guys have the room, just let them have it.
00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.440
I he said, Why?
00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.160
What do you what do you think?
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:01.519
And I'm thinking I said, Scott, Scott's got this under control.
00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.480
Yeah, just just let the players have the room.
00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:09.519
And if I didn't, I was gonna look like I did, but yeah, Peter, you and I both know that that's true.
00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.880
But that's that's the case.
00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:15.599
Like that's how I reflect on your career and the person you are and all those things.
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.079
You know, you're very there's nothing calculated about you.
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:24.960
It's all very genuine and authentic, but very real and calm, and seems like anything was kind of attainable.
00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:29.920
And my point to the quit to the my remark was that we just had to just like let you guys have it.
00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:35.599
We had a great third period and won the world championship, and it was great to see you and Rob and your mom on the ice together with that.
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:36.400
I just love that.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:37.920
But it speaks volumes to you.
00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.640
I think Robbie's similar, you know, in his disposition.
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.480
Yeah, and I think that's a great thing.
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.440
Where did that come from?
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.960
Is it is it you how you grew up?
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.640
Is it just you know, is it DNA?
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:48.079
What where did it all come from?
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.559
Yeah.
00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:53.920
I definitely will give uh credit to my parents for sure, but I also think it's sort of our personalities.
00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:54.799
That's who I was.
00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:58.160
I think you kind of mentioned it, and I don't think I was trying to be something I wasn't.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:09.359
You know, there may be moments I should have been louder and maybe I should have been more, you know, sort of emotional and and different things, because hockey does call for that as well at the right times, I believe, or maybe from the right person too.
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.039
Maybe I wasn't the person to do that.
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:19.039
But I think just being level-headed, being calm, just kind of going to work and doing everything you can and and kind of just having a little bit of belief in there as well.
00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:35.119
I I think, and especially by the time I got to 2004, I'd I'd played, I'd been through a lot, had success, kind of had a level of confidence that I kind of had an idea of what it took, you know, getting thrown off the game plan or caught up in things that don't really matter and winning a hockey game were a waste of time.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.119
And I think I kind of understood that.
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:47.599
And, you know, so by the time I got there, I just had a level of confidence and belief that if we just keep focused on the things that you know we're doing as a team from our coaches from from each other, we trust each other.
00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:50.240
We may not win, but that's our best chance to win.
00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:50.480
Yeah.
00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.680
And I think by that point had a pretty good understanding of that for sure.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:20:00.160
It must have been awesome to be on the ice in a couple of Olympics with just the best hockey players on the planet.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:03.440
We thought certainly Canada, but really every team was great.
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.279
And um, that must have been special.
00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:12.480
When you spoke a little bit earlier about team and maybe hanging that individual success and you know, all that kind of stuff, leave it outside.
00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:20.079
It must have been phenomenal to be around that, but but you also have had to have felt like very much a part of the leadership of of those groups, certainly in the second one.
00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:27.519
And I'm curious to know how you how you helped lead a group of leaders for starters, but great players, period.
00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.119
Yeah, I mean, you know, at that point in the second Olympics, that was the last year 2010.
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:35.759
And, you know, I was 36 years old at that point.
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:46.960
So if there was anything I was bringing to that team, it wasn't gonna be speed anymore, it wasn't gonna be necessarily the the best player on the ice, but it was experience, you know, it was a little bit of wisdom, hopefully, that I'd acquired over time.
00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:58.000
And, you know, the key there, playing in Vancouver, you know, obviously a tremendous amount of pressure anytime you're on a Canadian hockey team, no matter where you are, but makes a little bit more when you're in front of the home fans and in Canada playing.
00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:09.759
You know, my job was like I talked about, you know, let's just control what we can, guys, trust each other, trust the staff that we're working with, and just believe that if we do these things, again, that's our best chance to win.
00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.200
For sure, there's never a guarantee.
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.400
I mean, we went overtime.
00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:18.240
I mean, one bounce, one mishap, anything could have led to the opposite result very, very easily.
00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:23.200
Um, but we went out, we regrouped quick after giving up a tough goal late in that game.
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:28.799
I hope I kind of showed a love some confidence and still belief in each other and our team when we got in the dressing room.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:30.240
At least I tried to.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:41.119
And uh, you know, we went out and uh obviously Jerome making a great little pass to Sid, who supported the puck well and just a quick sneaky shot, and we win the gold medal, and it kind of worked out.
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:46.240
So I think if you give yourself a chance, you know, and continue to do the right things, you don't win them all.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:49.119
But I think you're gonna do all right, would be my my guess.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:49.839
Makes sense.
00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.559
I'm gonna go back and then I'm gonna come back again, and we're gonna wrap it up.
00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:52.960
I promise.
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:53.839
You need time with your kids.
00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.480
No problem.
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:59.839
So back in the day when Carol's teaching you guys skating, giving you power skating.
00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:00.640
Instructions.
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:01.680
Was she firm?
00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:03.200
What kind of a coach was mom?
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.240
Yeah, well, she she grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:08.240
So there wasn't a whole lot of messing around.
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.720
She uh she she loved hard work and and that was important.
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:17.119
So when we were at the rink, you know, we're allowed to have fun, but we better be working hard at the same time.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.720
That that was a consistent message.
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.319
There wasn't really about results.
00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:22.319
It wasn't really about those type of things.
00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.240
It was just about on the ice, you work hard.
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:27.759
If you're you know out on the farm or whatever, you work hard to get your job done.
00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:30.240
I mean, that was just sort of the mindset that she brought.
00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:31.839
And uh definitely a valuable one.
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.640
You know, I think it's it's something that is important for sure.
00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:36.640
And uh just get out there, do your best.
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.039
It's not the same for anybody, er for everyone.
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.000
And uh that was definitely my mum's calling card for sure.
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:52.160
And I think even you know, talking about Bob in his line of work as a medical doctor, there's a certain discipline that's required there, you know, attention to detail, that sort of thing too.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:57.839
So again, I the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree when it comes to you know getting the job done and getting it done the right way.
00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:02.480
Yeah, I mean, now that I've you know been a parent, our youngest son just graduated high school.
00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:10.559
I now can actually speak from experience and just you definitely recognize what your parents did for you, you know, when you're in the middle of it yourself trying to figure it out.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:16.000
Um and yeah, you know, Rob and I were we're very lucky with both my mom and dad, what what they did.
00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.640
A lot of hockey parents do a lot for for their kids and all sorts of different things for sure.
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:25.039
I guess not just hockey, but I know hockey and that's what I went through, and and they were there for us.
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.480
They they supported us for sure.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.960
We'll wrap up with this here, Scott, and thanks again.
00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:33.039
How do you think kids deal, how can they deal with the pressure?
00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:46.000
I'm thinking about the stressors that are a part of a program that my daughter has, and it's can't name them all, but fatigue, pressure, criticism, relationships, time management, all those things.
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:52.319
How does a young person, you know, you've watched your kids do it, so I'm curious to know, and I know they're all athletic.
00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:54.319
Um, you and your wife are very much so.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.759
How do we help them deal with the pressure, you know, of the expectations?
00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:04.400
Um, you know, how do we make sure that they're not fatigued or even tired of, you know, playing anymore, which scares me.
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.039
Um, you know, how did you find yourself dealing with that?
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:13.599
And how do you see that being so important again moving forward as a as a young parent in sport in general?
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:14.559
Well, that's it, yeah.
00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:17.119
You said you saved an easy one for last, I guess.
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:18.319
Yeah, I did, yeah.
00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:21.440
Um it's different.
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:22.640
There's just no question.
00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:23.759
It is so different.
00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:40.400
And uh just the awareness and just everything that these kids are in boon with now, and you know, the information that's out there, uh, the opinions, the you know the things that get said and shared out in the world, like it's so much beyond what we had to deal with back in the good old days.
00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:47.119
You know, you hope that just ultimately support and love, I guess, can really take carefully of a good number, a good amount of that.
00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:54.880
Yeah, you know, and I and I guess at the same time, like you hear people talk about are like do you want to win or are you afraid of failing?
00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:58.880
Or I kind of feel like it's it's never good to be afraid to lose.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:24:59.599
You're gonna lose.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.400
You're gonna fail.
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.839
I've been backwards skating in the middle of a game and caught an edge on the blue line and went flying, and the guy went in and scored.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:06.319
It happens.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.640
Yeah, you know, it's a matter of what do you what do you do next?
00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:09.599
You just keep working, right?
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.039
You just pick yourself up.
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:20.240
You hope your teammates have your back, good teammates will, and you get back to it and you just keep working and you hope over the long haul that this you know moves you in the right direction.
00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:24.960
And again, easier said than done, especially when it's all in your face, like it is in today's world.
00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:32.480
It's hard to kind of get away or get away from different other people's opinions and things like that for these young, young athletes, young people in general.
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.400
So I do feel for them in that sense.
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.440
At the same time, I guess I would say for the most part, those comments are made very flippant.
00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.359
I don't think people really think much about it.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.440
It's said and they move on and they forget about it.
00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.799
So why would you carry it around?
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:53.359
But it is it is hard, and I feel I feel for kids that are, you know, living growing up, figuring life out with these added pressures that they do have now.
00:25:53.359 --> 00:26:05.200
I think it we do need to be aware of it and uh you know try to manage as best we can to give them a chance to you know be confident individuals as they get older and and be able to enjoy life and contribute to life.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:12.799
Well, it's interesting, Scotty, because you know, you mentioned you know, mom growing up on the farm, you know, dad's attention to detail, those types of things.
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:25.359
But I guess if we can be anything for not just our kids, any kids, be an example of that, you know, second and third effort, be an example of you know good values, being an example of being a good teammate, you know, whatever.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:33.119
I'm sure we watch examples every day, and sometimes they're maybe not the best, but that speaks louder than a lot of words.
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:42.720
So I think when I look at you and I think of you and your family and Rob and his and and um you know how you guys carry yourself as a family, it's pretty, pretty impressive, Scotty.
00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:46.799
And even taking the time like you did today for an old coach, I really appreciate it.
00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:53.759
It's just part of trying to pay it forward myself, you know, and and help people understand where they are and how they can, you know, the be the best version of themselves.
00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:56.000
And I can't thank you enough for taking the time today.
00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.279
I really do appreciate it, Scott.
00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:59.759
And um be sure to say hi to everybody for me.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:01.440
No, I'll absolutely do that, Tom.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:03.599
Yeah, it was great talking to you, catching up for sure.
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.279
And uh yeah, great seeing you.
00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:05.680
Thank you.
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.199
Thanks for taking the time today.
00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:01.919
I appreciate it.
00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:06.480
It's uh getting connected in this uh in this new world for me is always a challenge.
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.880
You young guys, less of a problem for sure.
00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:10.240
But uh thanks for taking the time.
00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:15.599
And I know you're visiting your mom and and uh with your family, and it means a lot to be for you to be able to take a couple minutes with me.
00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:16.160
I appreciate it.
00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.000
Well, I'm I'm happy to join you, Tom.
00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.359
And I think to be fair, I've been the one that's been causing the problems, but looking forward to having a chat for sure.
00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:27.280
Listen, you never caught caused a problem for me when we were together, that's for sure.
00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.600
I always look to you for for solutions.
00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:31.440
So uh thanks for that, by the way.
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.679
Well, tell me a little bit the role that you have now.
00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:36.399
How does that affect what are you doing exactly with Anaheim?
00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:38.640
Yeah, I've had some different roles since I've retired.
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:44.000
It's actually been 16 years since uh I was last skating on NHL Ice, so it's hard to believe.
00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:44.719
That's a long time.
00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:51.679
And I've had different roles in the last three, four years, I've been uh an advisor, uh special advisor to hockey operations.
00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.920
So kind of involved in most sort of facets of the business.
00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:06.799
Um talk with the coaches, do some player development with some of the young players, whether they're in Anaheim or playing junior in San Diego, spend some time watching them and kind of helping them out as well.
00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.159
And then talking to our general manager and you know, on that side of the business.
00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:10.959
So I've enjoyed it.
00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:11.680
I've learned a lot.
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.840
Still trying to just help a team have success.
00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:21.519
It's sort of the same approach I took when I played was be part of a team, do everything I can to help everybody be at their best and have our team have success.
00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:27.439
I I learned from a lot of good people, whether it's teammates and people in the organizations that I played with about those things.
00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:31.359
And I'm just trying to pay that forward as I think what we should be doing in this life.
00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.120
So I enjoy it and uh it's been good.
00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:33.920
That's excellent.
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:42.239
I I'm curious to know if, you know, do you as and playing a playing a bit of a role, at least in development, are you do you still have that inclination to help the D?
00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:43.439
Or it just doesn't matter.
00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:49.280
You know, you've got the experience, obviously, and the talent to help anyone, but how do you kind of lean when you're talking about development?
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:50.239
Yeah, there's no doubt.
00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:50.959
There's no question.
00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:56.640
I'm more comfortable talking about a defenseman than than maybe a guy scoring goals or a penalty killing forward.
00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:57.680
There's no doubt about that.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:12.800
But I think in a broader sense, when you you know look back and you try and understand what helped you be, you know, a contributor to your team and all those things, like there's a lot of consistent things about being a good teammate and being a competitor and and sort of the fundamentals of hockey, I think, are the same for all players.
00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:19.439
Subtle little nuances to the game and little things that you know maybe a forward or somebody can teach them better than I can for sure.
00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:24.879
But I still think the bulk of what a young player needs to learn is similar across the board, I would say.
00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:26.240
Scotty, what do you think?
00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:31.120
When you watch games now, and of course you get a chance to watch a lot live, what's the greatest difference you see?
00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:32.560
I'm gonna put it to you two ways.
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:40.319
Just in terms of how the game's played, number one, and then number two, the level of talent across the National Hockey League in general.
00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:49.840
And then I want to get, I want to dig back into sort of development in the first place, but how has the player changed, you know, and how has the game evolved since you last played 16 years ago?
00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:53.759
Yeah, I mean, it is a bit of time, but there's been big changes.
00:02:53.759 --> 00:03:09.680
I mean, I I think it's fair to say that I had an NHL career about 19 years, and there definitely was change near the end because I I think in 2004 or five is when they started calling penalties a lot more strict, you know, as far as the hooks and the holds and and that.
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:22.319
And but I think it affected us as players a lot initially, but I still don't think we ever got to the point where we understood how to play the game, especially offensively, to take advantage of the way the game was being called.
00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:34.879
We still sort of had that old mindset that if I was carrying the puck up ice and I saw a big defenseman in front of me, I was gonna stay 10 feet away because if I got any closer, it was gonna be some paint, and I didn't really want any paint.
00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:35.120
Yeah.
00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:43.439
Whereas you watch these guys now that have grown up with that style of game, and they're not afraid to get right under your nose, stick handle, hold on to the puck.
00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:49.039
They know that you can't come with a slash or a cross check or the things that used to happen in the game of hockey.
00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.759
So I think that took time for those players to really understand what they could and couldn't do.
00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:55.840
For us, it was hard defending.
00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.159
We were in the box a lot early in those days, back in 05, 06, 07.
00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:06.400
But I still don't think we changed our game offensively much to sort of take advantage of the way the game was called.
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:09.840
So I think that's just allowed individual skill to explode.
00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:16.399
I will say, to an extent where I think it can be a problem at times, where too much of the focus on the game is individual skill.
00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:22.399
I think you see the best players and the best teams still know how to play as a team, and they make each other better.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:28.079
And they're the best, hardest teams to beat, and they're the teams that win championships by playing that way.
00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:29.839
I don't think you win it as an individual.
00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:38.720
That that is one of the things that I think I learned about hockey and now very much appreciate is it takes a team, a true team effort to have success.
00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:52.160
And I would say that there is definitely a bit too much focus on the individual player and their individual skills rather than the team play and moving away, you know, with moving without the puck and what you're doing without the puck.
00:04:52.160 --> 00:05:03.519
I kind of throw it back to growing up when we had frozen ponds down, you know, in Cranberg here and we go out and just play scrimmage and you just learn how to play hockey with your teammates, how to play without the puck or play road hockey.
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:08.639
I think there's less of that and more focus on individual skill, which when you watch the game is amazing.
00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:14.240
I mean, you look at even junior hockey, you watch the players in warm-up, they can handle the puck, they skate well.
00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:15.759
It's impressive to watch.
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:22.319
But there is the other side of the game that I think has maybe been a little bit left behind in relation to that individual skill.
00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:24.959
That's really, really interesting you see that.
00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:37.199
As you're talking like that, I'm thinking to myself, okay, so I can pick up my handheld device and I can watch all kinds of incredible individual skills and guys doing stuff I could never ever dreamed of doing.
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:41.759
And you do start to see a little bit of that manifest itself in the NHL, don't you?
00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:49.680
And certainly even up to that point in time, there's there's a lot of kids and guys trying things and women trying things that would never have been explored before.
00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:56.160
And it's interesting that you start to suggest, maybe to a degree, at least at the expense of the team outcome.
00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.160
And I don't know if what I'm saying is good or bad.
00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:02.480
I just have this realization in my mind that there is a lot of freelancing going on out there.
00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.839
And maybe need her to tell me if I'm wrong, but I mean, nothing's perfect.
00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:07.839
And I've had this discussion with others as well.
00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:11.600
And I talked to Jimmy Hiller the other day, actually, and and we were talking about this.
00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:24.639
And I'm a little fearful that we always sort of seek this perfection thing and we don't give players, and back in a day like yourself, you know, you could do it really anything you wanted to, but you were you were a good teammate first and foremost and played that way.
00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:32.160
But if we're looking for perfection, we then take away the opportunity for creativity and imagination and being inventive.
00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:34.560
And well, you've got one there in Paul Korea.
00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:40.079
Paulie was a had all kinds of imagination when he played, and that was the hardest thing to defend in Paul Korea.
00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:43.040
Great skater, great shooter, great playmaker, great player, sure.
00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.959
But boy, when he started to create things on his own, it was very, very tough to defend that.
00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:55.680
On one side, I I appreciate that the team concept has maybe paid the price here a bit, and yet at the same time, I don't think it's a perfect game.
00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.800
And that so to allow for that level of creativity is also important.
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.040
So it's a a bit of a catch-22.
00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:15.199
Have you noticed when you're watching youngsters as you were in in the Okanagan over the years, do you see kids kind of l applying these skills that they're learning similarly, or do you see the team game or or what do you see in sort of the evolution of development of a young player?
00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:19.199
Yeah, I mean, I think those are all great points, and I would agree fully with them.
00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:23.680
I mean, you want players to be having fun, you want them to be trying things, working on skills.
00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:32.879
I mean, I don't at all say that that shouldn't happen by any stretch of the imagination, but I think again, you mentioned social media, you know, the the highlights that we can get.
00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:40.319
Now, I remember when I think TSN first came on TV and they would have Sports Center at night, and that gave you an opportunity to watch highlights.
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:43.279
And it was, as a young kid, that was a dream come true.
00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:49.199
You know, you sit down after dinner and you watch the highlights of the NHL and the flashy plays that happen, the big go bulls.
00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.759
And now kids get a steady diet of this all the time.
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.319
It's connected to their phones, it's everywhere they look.
00:07:54.319 --> 00:08:01.120
There's just nowhere you can really hide from that much focus on sort of the highlight real goals, which I'm I enjoy as much as anybody.
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:02.000
There's no question.
00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.800
You see the skill level and and those things.
00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:26.319
I guess, you know, with all that focus, I think it does kind of pull you away from being part of a team and using that skill to not only make yourself more successful, but your teammate to be more successful, your team to be more successful, and being efficient and effective with what you're doing rather than just doing it for a clip and a highlight to show your buddies kind of thing.
00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.519
And it is difficult to balance both those mindsets.
00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:31.600
I don't think it's one or the other for sure.
00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:39.279
I think you can kind of be aware of both and and try and be good and learn both areas of the game to be the best player you can be.
00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.799
I I don't deny that at all.
00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:56.399
But I do think maybe at times we've swayed a little bit too much to that individual and not understand the importance of playing for each other, um, doing things to help your teammates rather than the focus being maybe on you as much as maybe it seems sometimes.
00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.000
So I think that's a good point.
00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.559
And we can't lose sight of the fact that we want these kids to create and and make things happen.
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:11.360
And I I watched the PWHL, I watched the women's game, and the transformation there in the last 20 years, Scott, has been just phenomenal.
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:22.000
And, you know, now that we have the PWHL and the women have got something to aspire to, I think it's just fantastic for the game, obviously, and it's gonna grow the the women's opportunities tenfold for sure.
00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.679
But I actually I really enjoy watching the PWHL.
00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:27.120
I enjoy watching women's hockey.
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.440
It just there's a certain purity to it, and it is about the team, without a doubt, for sure.
00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:32.720
I like it when they try stuff.
00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:37.039
You know, you can start to see the confidence building in these women where they're legit best in the world.
00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:45.440
I'm excited about that, and I'm excited for little girls that want to that want to play hockey or play sports, and I'm gonna I'm gonna take you off on a on a little different tangent here.
00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:49.440
When you grew up, Scott, you and Robbie played, you were multi-sport athletes.
00:09:49.440 --> 00:10:01.200
What else did you play and how did that lend itself to not just being a an NHL player and a great great ones at that, but even just you know, good citizenship, whatever, you know, a good person.
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.519
Obviously, your family's second to none.
00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:05.600
Just tell me a little bit about how you feel about that.
00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:08.799
Yeah, well, I uh I've you know thought about this before.
00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:13.200
We've talked about different people, you know, sort of the difference you know in the world today.
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:14.399
We had no real choice.
00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:15.840
I mean, it just was the way it was.
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:22.080
The rink, the ice came out of the Cranberg Arena in April and didn't go back in until end of August.
00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.960
So we had no, you know, we probably played road hockey through the summer a little bit and things like that.
00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.720
And I'm actually very thankful that that's the reality that I grew up in.
00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.600
So we did look around, we played a bit of golf.
00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:45.279
Probably the main sport both Rob and I played was soccer, played on the local Cranberg team and went to tournaments in Lethbridge and Sandpoint, Idaho, and different places, and that was kind of another one of our you know main sports.
00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:50.240
Played a bit of baseball, things like that, hiking and fishing in the summer, kind of get away from hockey.
00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:51.840
And but but everybody was doing it.
00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.799
It wasn't just us making a decision to do it.
00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.360
That was just the way the calendar laid out.
00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.600
You know, soccer shut down during the winter as well.
00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.320
There was no one playing soccer over the course of the winter.
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:13.840
And and I'm actually thankful that I grew up in a world like that, whereas now, good intentions, people are out there providing opportunities to train, learn, and you know, in any sport, not just hockey, but it is a lot.
00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:21.360
And if you're in you're in one of these sports for the long haul, you know, I think that can provide wear and tear both mentally, probably and physically on your body.
00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:26.480
And I think that is a big advantage of doing different sports, doing different things.
00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:40.399
You know, it does teach you new things, different perspectives on all kinds of things, and and your body as well, moving differently, you know, maybe gaining strength where it was a weakness because of skating and and maybe giving a rest to parts of your body that maybe need it as well.
00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:45.360
So it's hard to do these days because it's sort of every you know, the better players are doing it.
00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:50.879
And if you want to keep up to the pack and make the team the next year, you feel like there's pressure to to keep going yourself.
00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:52.960
And I honestly don't have an answer to that puzzle.
00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:57.039
And it does increase, it increases the talent, the skill level gets developed.
00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:58.080
There's no doubt about that.
00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:01.600
I mean, you can see that every day you watch hockey for sure, like you said.
00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:09.840
But maybe we are giving up something on you know in other areas of our lives and our our physical growth as athletes as we get older.
00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:11.759
Here's an interesting one for you, Neater.
00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:17.519
I don't know, but I know some of the minor hockey coaches you had in Cranbrook personally as well, and you know, great people.
00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:22.000
But was there ever a time when you were young where you thought to yourself, I don't want to do this anymore.
00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:22.559
I'm done.
00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:26.000
Was there ever a time where you thought I don't think so.
00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:27.600
I sure don't remember it.
00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.159
I yeah, I remember having a lot of fun.
00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:37.679
I remember going to tryouts at the end of August, early September, you know, dusting the gear off from under the stairs and just being like so excited.
00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:42.240
Maybe you have a new stick or you know, a new piece of equipment and away you go.
00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:44.960
And you you were just so excited to hit the ice again.
00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:45.840
See your buddies.
00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.360
Obviously, in a small town like Crammerk, it was the same crew most of the time.
00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:53.919
And right, you know, back to having fun and playing hockey and the season wasn't super long.
00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:57.279
I mean, yeah, I honestly'm pretty sure I never never thought that.
00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:59.519
Definitely when I was playing here in town, absolutely.
00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:00.559
Yeah, definitely.
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:04.399
What about now when I think back, we in Kamloops.
00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:09.759
I was so happy on December 1st of the year you and Sid came back, and I thought, okay, now we got a chance.
00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:11.919
And believe me, I had nothing to do with it.
00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:18.000
But when you went to Jersey, well, first of all, when you were in Kamloops, you played the game Scotty Niedermeyer hockey.
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.960
And like z nobody had a problem with that, of course.
00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.600
And uh you did wonderful things for that entire organization.
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.519
Well, sure, I'm sure you did occasionally.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:31.039
I'm sure occasionally you had a problem, but I had I had one I remember, but uh in any event.
00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:36.000
And that was flat outfind a great story nowadays, maybe for another time.
00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.960
But when you went to Jersey, you were a certain player, Scotty, and you know, I think was Jacques the coach then?
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:41.360
You know what?
00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:47.279
He he didn't come until my second actually, my it was my third year after draft two years after I was drafted.
00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:51.440
Oh first year that I stayed there was Tom McVee.
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.639
My second year was uh Herb Brooks.
00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:55.519
Okay.
00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.919
And then uh Jacques Lamaire came.
00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:58.240
Yeah.
00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:07.759
So you were always as good as defensively as you needed to be, because you were such a great skater and you had a great head for the game and this vision beyond anybody I'd ever seen before.
00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.399
So you're always good defensively, but you loved attack.
00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:18.080
You loved attacking, you loved moving the puck, you know, you loved joining the rush, you loved, you know, but just putting the pressure on the opponent as five guys for sure.
00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:32.879
And it seemed to me, if I remember right, that you you kind of, I don't know if you reinvented yourself or if your coaches had that kind of an effect on you, but you really, and maybe it was just a dynamic of the NHL neater, but you you really kind of became an outstanding 200-foot guy.
00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:35.919
And is that a fair comment or am I way off base there?
00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:37.840
No, I talk about that a lot actually.
00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:46.399
And and to be honest, going through sort of the adjustments and learning that I did in the NHL, I kind of look back on it and say, like, it was the best thing that happened to me as a player.
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.080
At the time, I thought it was the worst.
00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.759
You know, at the time I was kind of frustrated and trying to figure it out like how do I make this work?
00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:57.120
How do I do what the coach wants, but I still think I can do these things.
00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:02.480
Like it really was a puzzle that that took me some time to kind of figure out as I was going through my career.
00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.120
I'd already been in the NHL, you know, a year plus.
00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:09.200
Jacques Lamaire came in as a very, you know, he knew what it took to win.
00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:13.759
This guy, part of so many Stanley Cups, right, as player and management coach.
00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:20.639
And he, you know, he really wanted a button-down game where defense was the commitment, and uh that was gonna be how we won.
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.639
And the second year with Shock, we did win.
00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:26.000
We won the first Stanley Cup in New Jersey, 1995.
00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.480
That was my first Stanley Cup, and what a thrill.
00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:33.360
I mean, really, that's that's what you're doing it for, and and I felt no different than the rest of the team.
00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:50.960
Probably in the next couple of years after that, as you start maybe trying to spread your wings and do some more things and grow as a player, and at least in my mind, you know, that's when Jacques and I kind of, well, Jacques wanted us to play a certain way, and maybe I was pushing the edges and not doing exactly what what he wanted.
00:15:50.960 --> 00:16:00.559
And there was a period of probably a couple years at least where I was frustrated and discouraged by my game and maybe what I felt or, you know, I could or couldn't do as part of the team.
00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:01.440
But you know what?
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.399
I eventually Josh or Jacques was a stubborn guy.
00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.639
He knew what he liked and he stuck with it.
00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:19.600
He wasn't gonna, you know, bend to my wishes as a young 21-year-old hockey player thinking I knew what it took, where this guy'd been around the league, around the game his whole life and really did know what it took to win and the commitment it did for a team.
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:32.399
And I think once I sort of wrapped my head around it, got comfortable with making decisions when I was on the ice and how that could help and how that affected the team and my own my own success in play when I was on the ice and the opportunity it would give me.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:33.440
I settled into that.
00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.600
I was probably a little bit different player for sure.
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:42.159
But I I also think I just learned to be more efficient, you know, at picking the right moments to join the attack or to be aggressive.
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.279
And when that that time wasn't there, it wasn't time to make that play.
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:50.080
And I think that's a fairly reasonable sort of thing for any employer that they need to learn.
00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:55.519
I think we all love to score goals and be aggressive and be part of the offense, you know, when we're younger.
00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:03.120
And I think every young player has to score to go on a similar type journey and learning as they get older to be effective and help their team have success.
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:04.319
That's a great comment.
00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.960
And it's it's a bit of a trade-off, but it is.
00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:08.400
I'm thankful for it now.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:23.839
So well, the the other thing that I find interesting, Scott, is that you always seem to have this measure of poise and just whatever whatever fire drill was going on around you, you always seem to be calm and in control of yourself and you know the situation around you.
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.400
And and I I always really admired that.
00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:32.880
And I can remember um I think it might have been we did a world championship with Robbie, you and myself.
00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.559
And actually, that was uh 2004, I think.
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:37.519
Four or three.
00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:38.079
Was it three?
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.440
Oh 2004 it was.
00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.880
Okay, 2004.
00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.039
Yeah, and I think we were playing Sweden.
00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:53.279
Mike and I were coaching and uh Mike Polino and Mike Babcock, and I think we might have been, I don't know, we're going into the going in between the second and third period, and and uh Mike said to me, What do we do?
00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.559
And I just said, you know what, just let the guys have the room, just let them have it.
00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.440
I he said, Why?
00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.160
What do you what do you think?
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:01.519
And I'm thinking I said, Scott, Scott's got this under control.
00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.480
Yeah, just just let the players have the room.
00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:09.519
And if I didn't, I was gonna look like I did, but yeah, Peter, you and I both know that that's true.
00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.880
But that's that's the case.
00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:15.599
Like that's how I reflect on your career and the person you are and all those things.
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.079
You know, you're very there's nothing calculated about you.
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:24.960
It's all very genuine and authentic, but very real and calm, and seems like anything was kind of attainable.
00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:29.920
And my point to the quit to the my remark was that we just had to just like let you guys have it.
00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:35.599
We had a great third period and won the world championship, and it was great to see you and Rob and your mom on the ice together with that.
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:36.400
I just love that.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:37.920
But it speaks volumes to you.
00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.640
I think Robbie's similar, you know, in his disposition.
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.480
Yeah, and I think that's a great thing.
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.440
Where did that come from?
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.960
Is it is it you how you grew up?
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.640
Is it just you know, is it DNA?
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:48.079
What where did it all come from?
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.559
Yeah.
00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:53.920
I definitely will give uh credit to my parents for sure, but I also think it's sort of our personalities.
00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:54.799
That's who I was.
00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:58.160
I think you kind of mentioned it, and I don't think I was trying to be something I wasn't.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:09.359
You know, there may be moments I should have been louder and maybe I should have been more, you know, sort of emotional and and different things, because hockey does call for that as well at the right times, I believe, or maybe from the right person too.
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.039
Maybe I wasn't the person to do that.
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:19.039
But I think just being level-headed, being calm, just kind of going to work and doing everything you can and and kind of just having a little bit of belief in there as well.
00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:35.119
I I think, and especially by the time I got to 2004, I'd I'd played, I'd been through a lot, had success, kind of had a level of confidence that I kind of had an idea of what it took, you know, getting thrown off the game plan or caught up in things that don't really matter and winning a hockey game were a waste of time.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.119
And I think I kind of understood that.
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:47.599
And, you know, so by the time I got there, I just had a level of confidence and belief that if we just keep focused on the things that you know we're doing as a team from our coaches from from each other, we trust each other.
00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:50.240
We may not win, but that's our best chance to win.
00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:50.480
Yeah.
00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.680
And I think by that point had a pretty good understanding of that for sure.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:20:00.160
It must have been awesome to be on the ice in a couple of Olympics with just the best hockey players on the planet.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:03.440
We thought certainly Canada, but really every team was great.
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.279
And um, that must have been special.
00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:12.480
When you spoke a little bit earlier about team and maybe hanging that individual success and you know, all that kind of stuff, leave it outside.
00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:20.079
It must have been phenomenal to be around that, but but you also have had to have felt like very much a part of the leadership of of those groups, certainly in the second one.
00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:27.519
And I'm curious to know how you how you helped lead a group of leaders for starters, but great players, period.
00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.119
Yeah, I mean, you know, at that point in the second Olympics, that was the last year 2010.
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:35.759
And, you know, I was 36 years old at that point.
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:46.960
So if there was anything I was bringing to that team, it wasn't gonna be speed anymore, it wasn't gonna be necessarily the the best player on the ice, but it was experience, you know, it was a little bit of wisdom, hopefully, that I'd acquired over time.
00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:58.000
And, you know, the key there, playing in Vancouver, you know, obviously a tremendous amount of pressure anytime you're on a Canadian hockey team, no matter where you are, but makes a little bit more when you're in front of the home fans and in Canada playing.
00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:09.759
You know, my job was like I talked about, you know, let's just control what we can, guys, trust each other, trust the staff that we're working with, and just believe that if we do these things, again, that's our best chance to win.
00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.200
For sure, there's never a guarantee.
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.400
I mean, we went overtime.
00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:18.240
I mean, one bounce, one mishap, anything could have led to the opposite result very, very easily.
00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:23.200
Um, but we went out, we regrouped quick after giving up a tough goal late in that game.
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:28.799
I hope I kind of showed a love some confidence and still belief in each other and our team when we got in the dressing room.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:30.240
At least I tried to.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:41.119
And uh, you know, we went out and uh obviously Jerome making a great little pass to Sid, who supported the puck well and just a quick sneaky shot, and we win the gold medal, and it kind of worked out.
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:46.240
So I think if you give yourself a chance, you know, and continue to do the right things, you don't win them all.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:49.119
But I think you're gonna do all right, would be my my guess.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:49.839
Makes sense.
00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.559
I'm gonna go back and then I'm gonna come back again, and we're gonna wrap it up.
00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:52.960
I promise.
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:53.839
You need time with your kids.
00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.480
No problem.
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:59.839
So back in the day when Carol's teaching you guys skating, giving you power skating.
00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:00.640
Instructions.
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:01.680
Was she firm?
00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:03.200
What kind of a coach was mom?
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.240
Yeah, well, she she grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:08.240
So there wasn't a whole lot of messing around.
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.720
She uh she she loved hard work and and that was important.
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:17.119
So when we were at the rink, you know, we're allowed to have fun, but we better be working hard at the same time.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.720
That that was a consistent message.
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.319
There wasn't really about results.
00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:22.319
It wasn't really about those type of things.
00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.240
It was just about on the ice, you work hard.
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:27.759
If you're you know out on the farm or whatever, you work hard to get your job done.
00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:30.240
I mean, that was just sort of the mindset that she brought.
00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:31.839
And uh definitely a valuable one.
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.640
You know, I think it's it's something that is important for sure.
00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:36.640
And uh just get out there, do your best.
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.039
It's not the same for anybody, er for everyone.
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.000
And uh that was definitely my mum's calling card for sure.
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:52.160
And I think even you know, talking about Bob in his line of work as a medical doctor, there's a certain discipline that's required there, you know, attention to detail, that sort of thing too.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:57.839
So again, I the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree when it comes to you know getting the job done and getting it done the right way.
00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:02.480
Yeah, I mean, now that I've you know been a parent, our youngest son just graduated high school.
00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:10.559
I now can actually speak from experience and just you definitely recognize what your parents did for you, you know, when you're in the middle of it yourself trying to figure it out.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:16.000
Um and yeah, you know, Rob and I were we're very lucky with both my mom and dad, what what they did.
00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.640
A lot of hockey parents do a lot for for their kids and all sorts of different things for sure.
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:25.039
I guess not just hockey, but I know hockey and that's what I went through, and and they were there for us.
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.480
They they supported us for sure.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.960
We'll wrap up with this here, Scott, and thanks again.
00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:33.039
How do you think kids deal, how can they deal with the pressure?
00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:46.000
I'm thinking about the stressors that are a part of a program that my daughter has, and it's can't name them all, but fatigue, pressure, criticism, relationships, time management, all those things.
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:52.319
How does a young person, you know, you've watched your kids do it, so I'm curious to know, and I know they're all athletic.
00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:54.319
Um, you and your wife are very much so.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.759
How do we help them deal with the pressure, you know, of the expectations?
00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:04.400
Um, you know, how do we make sure that they're not fatigued or even tired of, you know, playing anymore, which scares me.
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.039
Um, you know, how did you find yourself dealing with that?
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:13.599
And how do you see that being so important again moving forward as a as a young parent in sport in general?
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:14.559
Well, that's it, yeah.
00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:17.119
You said you saved an easy one for last, I guess.
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:18.319
Yeah, I did, yeah.
00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:21.440
Um it's different.
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:22.640
There's just no question.
00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:23.759
It is so different.
00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:40.400
And uh just the awareness and just everything that these kids are in boon with now, and you know, the information that's out there, uh, the opinions, the you know the things that get said and shared out in the world, like it's so much beyond what we had to deal with back in the good old days.
00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:47.119
You know, you hope that just ultimately support and love, I guess, can really take carefully of a good number, a good amount of that.
00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:54.880
Yeah, you know, and I and I guess at the same time, like you hear people talk about are like do you want to win or are you afraid of failing?
00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:58.880
Or I kind of feel like it's it's never good to be afraid to lose.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:24:59.599
You're gonna lose.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.400
You're gonna fail.
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.839
I've been backwards skating in the middle of a game and caught an edge on the blue line and went flying, and the guy went in and scored.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:06.319
It happens.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.640
Yeah, you know, it's a matter of what do you what do you do next?
00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:09.599
You just keep working, right?
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.039
You just pick yourself up.
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:20.240
You hope your teammates have your back, good teammates will, and you get back to it and you just keep working and you hope over the long haul that this you know moves you in the right direction.
00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:24.960
And again, easier said than done, especially when it's all in your face, like it is in today's world.
00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:32.480
It's hard to kind of get away or get away from different other people's opinions and things like that for these young, young athletes, young people in general.
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.400
So I do feel for them in that sense.
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.440
At the same time, I guess I would say for the most part, those comments are made very flippant.
00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.359
I don't think people really think much about it.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.440
It's said and they move on and they forget about it.
00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.799
So why would you carry it around?
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:53.359
But it is it is hard, and I feel I feel for kids that are, you know, living growing up, figuring life out with these added pressures that they do have now.
00:25:53.359 --> 00:26:05.200
I think it we do need to be aware of it and uh you know try to manage as best we can to give them a chance to you know be confident individuals as they get older and and be able to enjoy life and contribute to life.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:12.799
Well, it's interesting, Scotty, because you know, you mentioned you know, mom growing up on the farm, you know, dad's attention to detail, those types of things.
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:25.359
But I guess if we can be anything for not just our kids, any kids, be an example of that, you know, second and third effort, be an example of you know good values, being an example of being a good teammate, you know, whatever.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:33.119
I'm sure we watch examples every day, and sometimes they're maybe not the best, but that speaks louder than a lot of words.
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:42.720
So I think when I look at you and I think of you and your family and Rob and his and and um you know how you guys carry yourself as a family, it's pretty, pretty impressive, Scotty.
00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:46.799
And even taking the time like you did today for an old coach, I really appreciate it.
00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:53.759
It's just part of trying to pay it forward myself, you know, and and help people understand where they are and how they can, you know, the be the best version of themselves.
00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:56.000
And I can't thank you enough for taking the time today.
00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.279
I really do appreciate it, Scott.
00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:59.759
And um be sure to say hi to everybody for me.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:01.440
No, I'll absolutely do that, Tom.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:03.599
Yeah, it was great talking to you, catching up for sure.
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.279
And uh yeah, great seeing you.
00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:05.680
Thank you.
