Ryan Suzuki Breaks Down How Chicago Flipped the Series | Playoff Resilience & Blue Line Offense

The playoffs don’t reward the “best story” from the regular season, they reward the team that can reset, adapt, and win the next shift. After the Chicago Wolves take down the Texas Stars in five games, we sit down with Wolves "Insider", Andrew Rinaldi, and Wolves' star forward, Ryan Suzuki, to unpack how that series flipped after a rough Game 1 and why this group looks built for a long Calder Cup Playoffs run.

Ryan walks us through the human side of development and pressure: moving into major junior at 16 with the Barrie Colts, turning pro early during the COVID year, and navigating the weird uncertainty of playing without a stable AHL affiliate. We talk about how confidence actually gets built, how younger players earn more touches, and what “being coachable” looks like when your teammates are also your teachers.

Then we get into the on ice details that decided the Texas series. We break down the value of a full team dinner for bonding, how offense from the blue line changes a series, why special teams can swing momentum in a single four minute kill, and how Chicago responds after a deflating late tie and overtime loss. Ryan also looks ahead to the Grand Rapids Griffins, the matchups to watch, and the habits the Wolves have to keep if they want to keep playing together.

Highlights:

• First round recap and why the regular season record can mislead
• Ryan Suzuki’s OHL development with the Barrie Colts and what billets mean
• Turning pro early during COVID and the pace of pro practices
• Confidence as the separator for young players earning touches and minutes
• Chemistry with Bradly Nadeau and Justin Robidas plus the daily work behind it
• Leadership in the room and why being coachable matters
• The team dinner after Game 1 and how camaraderie sharpens focus
• How blue line offense drives scoring and supports the forward group
• Winning in different styles from 5-4 track meets to 2-1 grinders
• Responding to a last second blown lead and staying resilient
• Game 5 tone setting, penalty kill momentum, and Suzuki’s hat trick
• Scouting the Grand Rapids Griffins and the keys to Round 2

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Transcript

Wolves Advance To Round Two

SPEAKER_04 0:32

Well, Chicago Wolves are off to a great start in the playoffs, knocking off the Texas Stars in five games to move on to the second round versus the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Wolves' run was fueled by the strong contributions of forwards Ryan Suzuki, Bradley Nado, and Noel Phillip, D-Man Yusso Valamackey and Cal Foot, as well as standout goaltending by Caden Primo. Joining me to wrap up the first round series Win versus the Stars and look ahead to the upcoming series with the Grand Rapids Griffins. I'm delighted to welcome in our storm tracker Chicago Wolves Insider Andrew Rinaldi and a very special guest, Chicago Wolves Star Forward Ryan Suzuki. Gentlemen.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_04 1:22

Okay, so lots to be excited about these days, for sure. And hey Ryan, congrats to you and your teammates for defeating the stars and moving on to round two. That's uh very exciting stuff for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Yeah, we're uh you know we're super pumped. So um it was a great series, and um, you know, we're looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

Yeah, for sure. And talking about series, uh there must be a lot of excitement in the Suzuki home these days with yourself and Nick uh doing extremely well.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yeah, I mean, uh my parents don't really get a night off of hockey, so um, you know, they're traveling around, um, watching on TV, and um, you know, we keep them busy for sure.

Ryan Suzuki’s Junior Hockey Roots

SPEAKER_04 2:07

Well, I I bet you do, and it's a great time of year for for both of you guys. And I I've been watching uh the Montreal series very closely. As it turns out, uh one of our teammates here on Storm Tracker, Aaron Manning, is a huge Montreal fan, along with being a Carolina Hurricanes fan. So she uh she's been watching you closely, and of course uh your brother as well. So it's uh it's kind of good stuff. Um anyway, I thought we'd just look a little bit at uh some of your history and and catch up on some of that. And and uh, you know, you played uh junior with the Barry Colts, uh you're drafted in the first round by the Canes, and I found that interesting because I'm from Barry, so that immediately stopped me, and I said, I gotta talk to Ryan about Barry. Um a great program. How how did you enjoy it when you were in in junior?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, I think um, you know, going in at 16, um, you know, it was pretty overwhelming at first. Um, you know, you're well I grew up in London, so obviously big OHL market there, and um, you know, it was my it was honestly my dream just to play in the OHL. Um just because, you know, going to nights games growing up. Um, you know, I thought at first I kind of thought that was it, you know, because you know, they got the big big arena there and um, you know, fans, diehard fans. So um, you know, just kind of going in at 16, you know, you're still a kid, so um you gotta kind of you know figure out your your day to day and you kind of grow gotta grow up a little quicker than most 16-year-olds. So um, you know, it was just awesome being in Barrie. Um, you know, I love my time there. Um, you know, I still talk to my billets, you know, every year and I make sure, you know, to go down there in the summer and hang out with them. So, you know, you kind of get like a second family there. And um I don't know. I just you know, I really enjoyed it. And you know, the hawk hockey part. Um obviously, you know, my first year we had Specznikov there, who I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with. Um and it was uh you know, it was pretty cool just to see like my first my first look of you know junior hockey I got to saw, I saw Svetch do, you know, go through his draft year and um kind of the process there. So it's kind of gearing me up for the following year. So um, but no, it was it was pretty awesome. And you know, they're doing they're doing great this year, they're in the OHL finals there. So um it just goes to show how great the organization is. And you know, I really enjoyed my time.

SPEAKER_04 4:35

Yeah, my family, uh the family that I have still in Barrie, of course, are huge Colts fans, so they uh we talked to Colts pretty much. Yeah, they must be five. So it's good fun. So that's great. Um, so then uh you turned pro uh 2021 and the next season, I think you guys won the Calder Cup, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Yep, yeah. I turned pro the COVID year just because of um the OHL never started, so I ended up turning pro at 19 instead of the usual age of you know 20 or 21. Um yeah, I think I mean that was an adjustment for sure, just going from you know, junior. And you know, I was really excited to go back for my you know 19-20 year, and that's kind of when you you know get some confidence and um you know, kind of you know, get your chance to be, you know, the top dog down in junior. So uh I was excited to go there and then um but I mean obviously not starting, you know, you gotta take that opportunity to turn pro and um you know take your game to the next level. And um, you know, had an awesome time there. We kind of had a mix mixed bag with um the Nashville prospects.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

That's right. I think I remember that year.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, we were we had it, we had an unbelievable team. Um you know, at times it looked like a football practice. We had so many guys out there, but um it it made it you know high compete for sure all year. And practices were just as hard as games sometimes. Um but you know, you kind of get it was kind of a nice like entry to pro because it wasn't a full season, but um, you know, you had you know those 30 games just to kind of get your feet wet and then kind of geared me up for the following season.

Turning Pro Fast And Adjusting

SPEAKER_04 6:16

No, that's great. And uh, you know, you you got caught in the the uh circumstances with the canes not having an AHL affiliate, um, and you ended up going off to Springfield for a season, which kind of that must have been kind of strange. And some of your other buddies were down in in the ECHL, and it was a bit of a debacle, uh, unfortunately, and thankfully it got resolved and everybody got back together in Chicago. But uh yeah, it's uh that was a weird one.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, I think I mean um you know, it was a tough situation for you know a lot of guys. I was lucky, you know, being able to go to Springfield and um you know I got an opportunity to play there. I could have, you know, obviously they got to develop their prospects too. So um, you know, just going into that season is there's a lot of unknown, but uh it was pretty it was you know, honestly, I was in a great situation there. Um you know, I got to you know play with guys like Adam Godet, um, Hugh McGing. So, you know, a lot of you know guys that are moving up to the NHL and stuff like that. So um but yeah, I had an awesome time in Springfield, obviously under the circumstances, but um yeah, it was it was definitely a weird situation, but I'm I'm glad to be uh out of that.

SPEAKER_04 7:38

Yeah, it was it was unusual. But you know, I I was looking, and of course the last couple of seasons for you have been great, and and what's what triggered all that? It's been fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

I don't know. Um you know, I feel like I had you know good seasons before that. Obviously, injuries kind of sideline that for a bit, but um you know, obviously it helps playing with uh Brad and Robodas. So um but yeah, I think you know, just obviously confidence is a huge thing, I think. Um you know, just being a younger guy, you know, you might not be getting all the you know puck touches you want throughout the game just because you're playing against better players. So I think you know, you just as you age you get more comfortable. I mean, and some guys just have it naturally, you know, like Brad um comes in at 19 and just tears up the league. So I mean you should probably ask him. But uh I think it's you know, it's just confidence. I mean, if you come in, you know, a little kind of hesitant, you're gonna maybe not play as good as you wanted to, but um, you know, as you grow up and you know get grow your game, you just kind of realize that you know you you kind of realize how important it is to you know have the puck and you don't want to give it up.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

So yeah, you know, and I think it's just you know, just the mindset going into each game. Um, you know, you want to go out there and compete and um I mean just have fun with it at the end of the day. Um you know, just if you work hard and you know you have fun.

SPEAKER_04 9:16

Oh yeah, I mean that's uh get things out. Right, get on the ice, have some fun, and and if you're having fun and things are going right, it seems to build on itself, doesn't it? So it's uh yeah, it's a great thing. And you know, you mentioned uh Bradley and Justin Robidah. Uh I had watched Bradley closely, you know, when he was uh still in college. I was talking about him as uh we talked about prospects quite a bit. And uh, you know, of course, he was he was doing some great things back then. But you know, you and Bradley and and Justin, man, there was a period this year before you know injuries and things happened at the end of the year, you guys were terrorizing the AHL. Literally. I mean, Andrew and I were just going nuts. I mean, I don't know what to say about them anymore.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, I mean, those are you know just two guys that are so easy to play with. Um, you know, they can play any style. Um, I mean, you've I'm sure you've seen in the playoffs, Brad's getting in there a little more.

SPEAKER_03 10:14

No kidding.

Confidence Chemistry And Leadership

SPEAKER_01 10:15

So uh I mean, just I think, you know, obviously they're great hockey players, and you can see that just by watching the games. But if you just go to one of our practices, you'll see these guys just, you know, they're always working on their game, and um, you know, they're never taking days off. They're staying late after practice and you know, always getting better. And you know, they love just being on the ice and um just doing anything they can to get better, even even off the ice, you know, they're in the gym and uh they're always taking care of their bodies. So um, and then obviously away from the rink, even like they're just two easy guys to hang out with. You know, we live live in the same building, so hang out all the time, and um, you know, that's a big part of it, too.

SPEAKER_04 10:58

So that's right. I mean, it you know, you talk about successful teams and you know, it's the the camaraderie, uh, the relationships that are formed, right? And and they talk a lot about that. Yeah, but you know, when Spiro was on, um he he was he, I mean, he had great things to say about you, of course, Ryan. So that that was wonderful, and and I'll pass that on for sure. Uh, but he also was talking about you know the work that that Justin and and and Bradley have done on the defensive side. Um we looked at we looked at the difference from their negative numbers last year to their positive numbers this year, and there's their substantial difference. But he that's what he was really proud about. He said, these guys they're they're working so hard, and then of course they're killing penalties together, they're doing all the you know, they're doing things that kind of round out their game. And uh, and I know I know you're helping too. And you know, when Skylar was on, we were talking to him about, you know, you can really help these guys that are you know a little bit younger. You know, you've been there for a few years, you kind of know where the washroom is, and you know kind of how to get things done, right? So so you know that there's a lot that I think goes into that as well uh with players like yourself and Skylar and other guys on the team, you know, Yusuf, whatever, where you know, you've you can really make a difference for these guys.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Yeah, I mean, you know, I don't feel like I'm that old, but um, you know, the last few years I have been feeling that. I mean, we got all these young guys coming in, and uh, you know, they're all unbelievable players, and you know, they're so funny, uh just in the room, and you know, they always keep me entertained. But uh, you know, I think the biggest thing is, you know, they want to get better and they want to learn and they'll listen. So um, you know, just anytime I can kind of give them some, you know, words of wisdom, whatnot. Um and I, you know, I let them know, like, hey, like, you could be doing this or this, and uh, you know, they go out there and listen. And um, you know, that's a huge part of you know, just growing growing your game and maturing is you know being coachable. And um, you know, it's not always the coaches that are kind of helping you out, sometimes you know, some of the older guys on your team. So um, you know, I'm it's funny because I'm still on the same boat, you know. I want to learn and um obviously round my game out some more. And you know, these guys, you know, they're looking for me, looking at me, asking me questions. I'm like, I don't even know myself. So um, but no, I think you know, it's just so fun to you know be around these guys, you know, even Felix and you know Himo Saomi, they're they're always entertaining.

Resetting After Game One In Texas

SPEAKER_04 13:31

Well, you've got a great bunch of guys, as as you say. And you know, that's one thing when we look at the parent club, uh, you know, the hurricanes, one thing I've always marveled at is just the group of men that are on the team, like really good people. Um you know, having fun together, playing hard, but underneath it all, good, good, solid citizens, really good, good people. And I think it's it's uh it's the same situation in Chicago. Now, we're gonna talk about the series against the stars, and of course, uh going into that series, uh Andrew and I did a preview episode, and uh we were a little anxious given that you guys had not done so well against the stars during the season, but that's okay. I'll it ends well, right? So, Andrew, over to you.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yeah, and it kind of felt like at that first game, you know, you guys just it it didn't feel like Chicago Wolves hockey, especially kind of that second half of the game. And you know, there was some of that that uh-oh, is this kind of like this team just have your number kind of thing? Um but after that, for after that game one, uh it was reported on the broadcast that Yusu Velamaki kind of took you guys out for dinner and just kind of had had a boys' night. So, you know, we're kind of wondering what was really said at the dinner table that kind of got you guys kind of back on track for game two.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Well, I think it's you know, you have such a long season. Um I mean, you got guys injured, you got guys called up. So, you know, obviously the regular season doesn't always tell the full story, and I think, you know, probably half those games we could have ended up winning, um, you know, with blown leads and whatnot. Um I mean, yeah, I don't think our record was great against them, but I feel like it doesn't tell the full story. So I was I mean, going into there, we knew it was gonna be a tough series, it was gonna be close. Um but like there wasn't any doubt that you know we couldn't get the job done. So um I think uh yeah, just we were everyone was confident in our room and um obviously at the dinner, I think it's just being you know, just being guys and hanging out. Um you know, we uh you get a couple days in between games. Um I mean it's just nice to get out with the boys and um you know, because usually on the road, you know, you go to dinner with a couple guys here and a couple guys there. And um, you know, it's just nice to get the whole group together and uh get some jokes and you know, get some, you know, just good memories with uh your teammates. So yeah, I don't think it was you know anything too crazy said, but I think it's just you know just being together and um because those are the guys you're going to battle with the next night. So um you know it's always good to you know create that brotherhood. And I think uh it was just really it was awesome of Juice to do that, um, take everyone out for dinner. Um it also kind of shows, you know, some of the younger guys that you know when they when they're you know kind of the older guys and you know they've signed some contracts here and there. Um it's just uh you know kind of shows the younger guys that you know this is kind of like the culture around hockey. It's you know, you kind of help help each other out and um you know it's just awesome.

Blue Line Offense And The Shimmy

SPEAKER_00 16:54

For sure. And then Juice, after after you're treating the boys dinner, juice kind of gets the tone set in game two with a couple of big goals, you know, and then in overtime you hit Don Fensori for the winner, and you know, you just gotta have a couple big guys there on the blue line that really kind of helped drive the offense. And I'm sure Coach Spiros being uh being a D-man, Z-man, absolutely loves that kind of stuff. Um but for you and the forward core, kind of talk about how having some some big play drivers out on the blue line helps you guys out when you know you kind of need a couple big goals here.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Um I mean sometimes I find myself playing D some a little too much, but uh no, it's it's awesome. Um you know, just kind of having that offense um from the back end can you know create so much more. Um, you know, that's just them joining the rush and you know being a threat, coming into the zone. Um they're all unbelievable skaters as well. So um, you know, they can they'll get back if they have to. And um I mean it takes a lot of pressure off you know the forwards to score. Obviously, you know, when you we had what was it three or four goals? Four goals from D. Four of them, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's just that helps out a lot. So I mean the forwards got a little jealous and ended up uh you know helping out a little bit more throughout the series, but um, it was it was it's awesome when you know having those guys, um, they're so skilled and they're so fun to play with.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

And I know we've seen this from Dom a couple times with the overtime winners. He's got that like shimmy celebration, and we've seen you in that as well. Is there like I know the fans love it. Is there a story behind that or did it just happen and it it stuck?

SPEAKER_01 18:46

I think it was just the it was the Costco guys. Do you know who they are? Uh uh. It's like uh just like the guys on TikTok, they do like the they do that or whatever. So it was just kind of just a little inside joke, but it was it was pretty funny because we were talking about it before and um he does it a little too fast. It's it's supposed to be a little slower, but um, he was just excited, so I get it. But we talked about it before and um he ended up scoring an overtime winner. I don't know where it was, but he didn't do it. And then I was like, why didn't you do it? And then he hasn't forgot since. So it's uh and he scores a lot of OT goals. So um yeah, it was it was it's always fun.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

We know I was just gonna mention we love seeing it, especially on a big win like that for sure. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:34

Yeah, I was just gonna mention that um Andrew and I have talked about Dom a lot because of course he he he's a guy that's in in the play and offensively moving it so much, and and uh so he he comes up a lot, and and I'm sure that as Andrew's saying, he's always lovely, great to have guys like that uh logging the puck up because wow, they can really go.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Yeah, I mean he's my roommate too. So we live together and he's uh he's uh he's one of the best guys ever. So um, you know, I love seeing him join the rush. And um, you know, anytime I can hit him, I'll try my best.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

Well, it's funny you mentioned that because when uh Skyler was on, his roommate is Charles Alexis Legault. And we're talking about Charles Alexis Lego. He says, That's okay. He's my roommate, and he's over there. That was fun. We we all have fun, yeah.

Adapting Styles And Bouncing Back

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah, and so you know, game two, five, four, nine goals, a lot of a lot of offense going around. And then you guys get home for game three, and it's two to one, tight checking, you know, it's uh I mean to talk about two completely different kind of styles there. So, you know, in the postseason, it's all kind of about like adapting and and kind of taking the game to your opponent as opposed to kind of just letting it come to you. And so how do you guys find that like that that you adapt to your game kind of as it goes on? You find ways to win no matter how it comes to you.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Yeah, I think you know, regular season sometimes you you know lose games that you know you're happy with how you play, and sometimes you win games that you know you're not happy with, and um in the playoffs, none of that matters, you know. You just gotta you just gotta win. So um, you know, obviously probably coaches don't love when you win 5-4, but you know, if you get it done, it's you get it done. So um, but no, I think our team, we can play any style, you know. We can we can play high offense, we can, you know, kind of lock it down. Um, we got you know two unbelievable goalies to back us up. Um you know, we can muck it up in the corners, we can, you know, play a skilled game. So I mean, I'm I'm really excited about you know this playoff run. So um just because of you know how we can adapt to each playing style. And um obviously our coaching staff, you know, they put in the work to uh you know get the video to us and um kind of tell us tendencies of other teams, and you know that's that's a lot of stuff that people don't you know see or notice, they just see the product on the ice, they don't see what goes on behind. So um just a lot of credit to our coaching staff and um you know just everyone getting us prepared.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Absolutely. Yeah, they've been doing a wonderful job for you guys from from what I've seen. I mean, everything behind the scenes is uh you know, there's only so much that we get an eye into, but you guys get you guys get those. Those two games, you know, game four, you're you got 'em against the ropes and ten seconds left, and you know, they they tie it up and then Texas wins it in overtime. I mean, you know, for us on the outside, it seems like, you know, heartbreaking, like that was the chance kind of deal, but uh it I mean, it didn't seem like you guys were rattled in the least bit, you know. How do you uh how do you guys kind of take away like a response after uh uh deflating loss like that and turn it into something positive?

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Yeah, I think um, you know, it was it was it was tough to you know give up the lead with 10 seconds left. Um it was I mean you can just feel in the room like the it was just deflating, like all the air was just sucked out of there. But um you know, I really I think that day in between, you know, you just kind of get to reset um you know mentally and you know get some rest and you know, just you kind of have to forget about it. Like it's like I said, like you gotta do whatever you can to win. Like none of that matters. It doesn't matter. Like it's you just gotta win this game. It's one game. Like we can do it. We beat them you know twice already. And um you know, I think Spiro came in and he said you know, he was saying, like, this is why we this is why we like played so hard in the regular seasons to get that second seed and to have that home rights advantage, and you know, this is why we we did all that work all years to get this this advantage. So um you know, I think our group is just like so resilient. Um you've seen us come back from from five goals at one point in Cleveland. So um you know, we're not we're not worried um like one bit ever. So I think you know, you when you have that positive swagger um throughout throughout the lineup, like we got I think everyone scored. Like we had scoring from all of our lines, D men, like we know like any team, whatever they throw at us, we can handle. So um no, I was I was super excited because you know, you know, growing up you want to play in the game sevens, and I know it's game five, but it's a game seven, so um that's when it matters most. And um, they're just it was just awesome.

Depth Scoring And Team Identity

SPEAKER_04 24:56

And you hear that from players a lot. Like we hear that, of course, the NHL as well. They love it when it's a game seven and everything's on the line, and uh you're just putting everything out there, and there's no use leaving it, just go and play hard, right? So yeah but you know, we've talked a lot about the depth of the wolves. Uh I mean, we're astounded. And I remember when Sparos was on, we were kind of laughing because uh Noah Phelps had come down. Um you guys had acquired uh Viktor Nochev. So you had kind of put together a new line alongside uh Bila Thungersorm, so it gave you another kind of offensive line. But but I was kind of joking because I said, man, now you've got Nikita Pavlitev and Evan Beerling on the what would be a fourth line, right? Holy man, you guys are loaded. Yeah, and so we we had some fun with that. So you've got you've got a you know, you guys are are deep, and that's one of the things that we see with the hurricanes. I mean, there's so many, you know, similarities between the two teams as we cover them, is what we see. And you know, yeah, I mean, there's every reason to believe you guys can go.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Yeah. Yeah, I think um, you know, we don't really have like a fourth line. Um you know, we we get scoring from everybody. Yeah. Um I mean, it's just every line can you know lock it down defensively. And um yeah, it's just so fun, you know, to you know, be able to, you know, put out any line and you know create offense. It's uh it's definitely a fun time for you know being a forward. So um but yeah, I think you know, having those two guys come in, you know, Philper and uh Nooch, uh they came in and um you know it seemed like they effortlessly fit in. So um yeah, I mean Phil's been you know he's been on fire the last last month or so. So it's uh it was really fun to watch.

Game Five Punch And Special Teams

SPEAKER_04 26:53

That's kind of one of the reasons I mentioned him at the outset. I I mean Noah's just been in the games, you know, watching him, he's he's just been a beast and uh you know winning a lot of draws and so on. So that's great. And and that's that's what you need though, right? You need all hands-on guys.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

Oh yeah, and then as we turn into, you know, as being game five for all the marbles here, you guys here's you guys starting off in the first minute with a couple of goals, and usually it's you kind of feeding it off to Bradley, but I mean, you know, here he fools the entire building and the entire world from the high slot, passing it off to you for the one timer. And though it's uh, I mean, just beauty of a rip, too. Um, and I know all the fans, you know, in Carolina, there's they're so excited for this kid to come up, and they know all about his his shot, but I mean you've seen him in practice, you've seen him, I mean, he's been on your wing the the whole year, you know. Kind of talk about how uh Bradley's game has kind of evolved so where he's he's much more of a complete player and ready to be uh future NHLer.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah, I think um you know obviously he he wows everyone with his with his shot, but um he's actually like undercover, like an unbelievable playmaker as well. Like he he knows that you know teams are gonna overplay him just for a shot and you know take him away. And you know, he has no problem passing the puck. Like I know some guys, you know, they're gonna try and force shots, and you know, when it's not going in, you know, they're they're getting frustrated, but um you know he has no problem you know passing it. You know, he's got a he's got a high motor, he's super competitive, um you know, which is you know he's a complete package. Um I mean he's if you know if he can't score goals, he's gonna you know make plays um to other guys. And um, you know, I learned just kind of you know being around him, he's you know, he always wants to be better and um you know he'll he'll do you know anything the coach needs him to do. He'll he'll go out there and he'll he'll fly around and hit guys if he has to. So um, you know, he's just he's awesome, he's been awesome to play with. And um, you know, I'm lucky to have him the last couple years.

SPEAKER_04 29:11

Well, you know, it's interesting. You mentioned flying around hitting people. I one of the things I've talked a lot about has been you know the heavier game that he plays. Uh he did that with the canes when he was up, and he's certainly done that with you guys, so it's great. And but I want to just say that uh, and I thank you guys profusely for this. You scored a couple of goals in the first minute of game five, and that was great because then I could relax a little bit. Instead of sitting there like that's your own little game. Uh so thanks for doing that. And uh, and I know you were very much involved, and and uh so appreciate that, Ryan. And and that was a great start, and and boy, what a way to set the tone.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah, I mean I wasn't relaxed. I mean, we had a two-goal lead the game before, so um I was hoping we started with three. Um But no, I think anytime you can you know get early goals, it's uh you know, it takes a little bit of the pressure off, but I mean you gotta you gotta know there's so much time left. So um, you know, you gotta keep playing your game. You can't kind of you know kind of take a step step back, you gotta keep going. And um, you know, lucky enough we ended up doing that. And um we didn't have cruise to do a good victory.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yeah, and I mean you're right, because after that first minute, you know, in that second period, Texas, they get one back, and then next thing you guys know, you're you're killing a four-minute penalty. Um, and again, like you know, for us watching it, it's like uh the nerves are kind of starting to come back when we've seen this how many times in this sport, but I mean that penalty kill, just nerves of steel, and Caden Primo does as Caden Primo does, and yeah, four minutes, huge kill. And it might have been like a minute after the penalty ended, where uh you know Noychev gets the steal and then taps home the feed from Unger Swarm. And I don't know about how it was on the bench, but that felt like that was kind of the moment that really kind of clinched it for you guys. I mean, I know a lot of time left and everything, but that's it's such a huge momentum swing in that. Yeah. So, like from your guys' perspective, how does it feel to just kind of ride the wave of emotions where you know you're you're kind of almost clenching on on one end and then it's it's just it's celebrations on the other?

Hat Trick Talk And Shooting More

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Yeah, I think um, you know, when they score to make a 2-1, um you know, you could you could you know cut the tension. Uh there's uh there's a lot of tension on the bench. So um, you know, I think you know, our teams, you know, our PK is such a strong point of our team. Um you know, once we got that penalty, I don't think you know, they're not worried. Obviously, you know like they can score, but we're we're like, all right, let's let's do this, let's go out there and do this. So um, you know, I think not only can the you know scoring goals give you momentum, but you know, a great PK like that gives you a lot of momentum going into you know 5-1-5 once they kill it. So um, and they've been doing that for us all year. So um, you know, once we killed that, and um obviously um Deutsch scores that third goal, it's kind of you know, you can kind of relax a little bit on the bench, and um that was just it was awesome. I think that was uh you know, that was probably the biggest goal uh of the year for sure.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Yeah, it uh it doesn't get a whole lot bigger than that, but you know, we have to talk about uh a couple more goals that I think you're a little more personal with. The first hat trick of the season, that actually was uh that kind of blew me away there. But um, yeah, usually you're the guy setting them up, and uh um you know you had a couple uh a couple nice rockets and then an empty netter to kind of capp things off. I know. I know your dad tells you all the time that you have to shoot the puck more. Did you uh did you give it back to him after that game?

SPEAKER_01 33:08

No, you asked me, he asked me uh where I learned to shoot. But no, I think uh I think I had like the last what four games, I had like four or five shots each each game. So I mean that I didn't even know that, but I mean I try and just shoot when you know when it's there, I don't try and force it to the net because I think I can make you know a pass for a better shot, but um I mean sometimes you just gotta throw it there. So um, but no, I've been I've been trying to you know get more pucks on net when I can. And um you know, obviously a couple great passes from you know Brad and uh Justin. So uh makes my job a lot easier when I can just rip it. And um, you know, it's it's uh you know, it's a lot more fun scoring goals. So uh now I know how Brad feels.

SPEAKER_04 34:06

Yeah, for sure. When I watched that, I said, What have they done with Ryan Suzuki? I mean, who's in his body? Holy crap. That's great. That's great, right? I'm just playing with you. Um that was beautiful. And you know, it's always great to see those kind of goals because they're really spectacular, right? You know, it goes, you know, cross ice pass and boom, it's in the net. And and you know, it's uh it's always a thrill for a fan to to see that for sure. And uh yeah, good on you. That was a that was great. And and I'm glad you got the uh the topper to get your hat trick because uh well deserved. Well deserved.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Thank you. Yeah, no, it was awesome. Um I don't know. I just kind of came up with the salary right away. I don't know. I was I was kind of hoping there wasn't seven minutes still left on the clock, but um yeah, I was asking the guys on the bathroom like, was that too much? You know because I have still we have still have seven minutes left. So you're in shape.

Griffins Preview And Title Run Parallels

SPEAKER_04 35:01

It's great. So a great series and and uh and exciting for us to watch, of course, and uh, and I'm sure thrilling for you guys to play. Um now, guess what? Gotta do it all over again. And up against uh, you know, the the Griffins, um, boy, they're a juggernaut. They had a tremendous season. Um as you go into that series, what were your takeaways? Like what did you what's kind of jumped out at you?

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Um you know, obviously, you know, they're a top team in the American League. Um they had an unbelievable regular season. But I think you know, we've we've played them really well. Um you know, we've given them a lot of trouble throughout the regular season. We've you know we've beaten them a few times there. So I mean we know what we're gonna get with them. You know we're familiar with them. And um not gonna give away our game plan, but um, you know, we're we've been preparing, you know, all week. So um, you know, I think you know, just we just gotta keep playing our game. You gotta you can't really change too much about your game. You gotta, you know, do what you know got you there. So um, you know, I'm just super excited. You know, I love love playing in you know, playoff hockey. It's just just so much fun. So um, you know, I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_04 36:26

Well, you know, I I I've looked very closely at the Griffins, and uh there's a lot of similarities. Um, you know, they of course have some very top prospects, but they've done something interesting. They brought some folks over from Europe. Uh, you know, they've got uh I think three or four folks from Chechia, so you know, veteran players that have played a little bit longer. Um but you know, they just brought uh they've got Sandine Pelica back, so you're gonna have to keep an eye on him, and he's a guy that can motor, of course, and and they got Gustavson back on the blue. So you guys are gonna have to be mindful of all those guys that can really move the puck in their back end, but you've got the same thing. So yeah, uh either either team, right?

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, you pre-scout, um, you know, so we're familiar with a lot of their guys, and um you know, I think the biggest thing is we just gotta go in there with you know the momentum of the last series. Um but I think you know, like I said before, like our team can you know adapt to you know any kind of style uh they kind of throw at us. If they they want to play heavy, we can play heavy as well. And um, you know, if they want to play fast, we can do the same thing. So uh, you know, I'm super excited to uh get going this week and um I'm just ready to go.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Oh yeah, and you were, you know, you mentioned it before, you were on that 22 team that went, you know, went all the way and really kind of ran roughshot over the entire league on their way to uh Calder Cup championship. And I mean, you know, you look at I think the guys in that roster, Potterowski, Nason, Levo, Chatfield, LeJoie, um, I mean, the two-headed monster goaltenders in that and everything. It's it was, you know, it was a great roster, and you guys have, you know, we talked all about the depth on this year's squad as well. Um, so what kind of similarities do you see, you know, the qualities that kind of mirror that that team that made a championship run as you guys are looking to make your own here?

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Yeah, I think you you know you kind of said it all there. I mean, we got we got two goaltenders that can, you know, steal games. Um, you know, we got big D men that can move the puck, we got you know, offensive scoring defensemen, um, and then we got depth throughout the whole lineup. And then, you know, we got a guy that can, you know, score he could score 50 goals um, you know, in this league. So, you know, when you put it all together, I think you know, it just comes down to you know, if we can execute the game, the game plan that we put out. So um but I think you know that team was just every night we we knew we were gonna win. You know, even if we didn't win, we were we like we knew we were gonna win. We we go in every game, you know, with the same confidence. So um and I think it's similar to here. I think you know, we're we got a confident group, but um I think it's just gonna come down to you know every night we just gotta keep that you know you know swagger going. And um it's just uh you know, just I think everyone's just really you know anxious to get going and uh excited.

SPEAKER_04 39:36

Yeah, for sure. And I mean uh you as you said rightfully earlier too, Ryan, you guys have played well against them. And uh in fact, uh the folks on the Griffin side that I was chatting with yesterday said the Wolves have been the toughest out. Uh so you know we know what we're in for, and it's not gonna be an easy ride. So I think uh you've got the momentum. You beat up on Texas, who seem to have your number this year, so you proved that you know this is a whole new season, right? So you're starting fresh.

SPEAKER_01 40:11

Yeah. Um I mean, we know uh you know, playing these guys, you know, I don't even know how many times a lot of times.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

I think it was 10. Yeah.

NHL Playoffs Nick Suzuki And Closing

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Yeah, I mean you play them ten times. Um you know, there's different guys in the lineup, you know, they I mean, just the AHL in general, you're playing, you're not always playing the same team. So um, you know, we we know we haven't gotten, you know, their best version of them. So I think you know, we're excited for that test as well. So um, but I think they haven't got the best version of us either. So, you know, that's that's why you know this time of the year is so awesome, is you know, you get you get to see, you know, it's best on best, and um you know, I'm just super excited.

SPEAKER_03 40:56

Speaking of that, have you have you been following uh any of the NHL stuff?

unknown 41:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Um, you know, I've been watching you know here and there. Um some of the later games they're a little too late for me to stay up and watch. But um obviously my brother's games. Um I try and watch all those if you know we're not playing, but um, and then obviously Carolina. Um but yeah, I think you know, with with our schedule and stuff, um, you know, we had a lot of time off. So um it was nice to watch you know the NHL playoffs. Um and you know, it's just always the most exciting hockey to watch for sure. So um yeah, it's we've been doing that.

SPEAKER_04 41:39

Yeah, I mean that's that's the thing, is uh, you know, whether obviously watching you know you guys in in your playoff hockey, which is great for you know for all of us to watch, and of course the NHL, it's just insane. And and uh and to watch the hurricanes win eight straight games is just uh legendary. Like it's incredible. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 42:01

Yeah, I think uh somebody was saying in the room, I think the is the record nine. I think it is nine, yes.

SPEAKER_04 42:07

Yeah, I think it is nine, yes.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

Yeah, so I mean yeah, it's uh you know, anytime records are anytime records are in conversation, it's uh you know, it's it's pretty cool. So um, you know, I'm excited to see that. Um and see what they can do.

SPEAKER_04 42:24

Okay, so as we wrap up, um hey Andrew, any comments, and then we'll pass it over to Ryan to just close off.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

Uh if Montreal ends up advancing, who who do you root for? Do you root for the the the guy that signs your paycheck or do you root for the family? Can I can I just cheer for both?

SPEAKER_01 42:48

No, I always you know I always say, you know, I I just cheer for Nick as you know, as long as he's doing well, um, you know, whether whatever that means. Um you know, obviously I want him to succeed so bad. So I mean it's tough because you know, I got buddies, you know, in Carolina, and but you know, blood, blood's different. So um, you know, I just want him to do well. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

So from your side, Ryan, just uh some final thoughts as you think about uh what's ahead for for you and and your teammates.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Yeah, I think um you know it's the most exciting time of the year for hockey right now. So um, you know, we had a great, great first round there, and you know, we've had a great season and um you know a lot of exciting exciting moments throughout the year. And um, you know, I think you know, we we talk about you know fight for another day together. So, you know, the more you win, the more you get to play together, and we have such a close group. So um, you know, I'm excited to see what we do in the second round. And uh yeah, thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_04 43:58

Listen, uh, it's been our pleasure. And and I know you're you've got a lot on your plate. You've got a few days off, which is kind of nice, or whatever, but but thanks so much for spending time with us, Ryan. This has been uh this has been great fun, and uh we learned a lot as we usually do uh in these these types of sessions. So thanks so much. And Andrew, of course, always great uh to have you on board and talking uh Chicago Wolves hockey. For those of you who've been watching or listening, of course, all three of us are delighted to spend time with us. If you like this episode, please press the like button. If you have questions or comments for any of the folks here today, please put those in the comment section. And finally, if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please press the subscribe and the bell buttons, and we'll make sure you're alerted just as soon as they're available. As always, we thank you so much for spending time with us and look forward to getting together with you real soon right here on StormTracker.