00:00gets a little cat talk here on 560 as the Panthers gonna be back in action
00:05tomorrow against the Seattle Kraken and cat talk brought to you by Hollywood
00:08Kia and Hollywood Kia the number one Kia dealer in all of Florida get the star
00:11treatment we want to see you and a Hollywood Kia visit them online at
00:15hollywoodkia.com and one of the young sensations on this year's Panthers squad
00:22is Mackie Samiskevic joining us here on the program a fellow Michigan Wolverine
00:29they I tell you what they've been better at hockey more consistently than the
00:35football team yeah over the years yeah it's a good spot great spot I miss it
00:40what made you want to go to Michigan Maggie what was that what was the the
00:44process of becoming a Wolverine um you know I was I was thinking about
00:48originally just staying home you know close to home both my sisters went to
00:52Quinnipiac so I was thinking about staying close to home and then I went
00:56out for a visit they took me to a football game and I was that's it
01:00that's that's all I needed to see so I'm glad I did it it was best two years of
01:06my life I think so far so I loved it you know when I went to Michigan I didn't go
01:11to a football game you got it that's a that's a bucket list thing you got to do
01:15yeah well I mean you got a couple experiences there afterwards I got a
01:22couple but so while like Michigan's a weird it's like wide open friendly yeah
01:34like you could literally go to school with somebody and never even like
01:40there's so many people there yeah I guess it's really big every week it's
01:45great everyone's so nice like one thing I loved about it was like it was that
01:50college campus feel like right everyone kind of knew everybody and you know when
01:56when you got that going you know everyone's enjoying time with each other
02:00and you get to know new people it's it's it's really good for you know a young
02:05person like I was Maggie we were talking a little bit obviously with the four
02:09nations and the Kachuk brothers making as noise as much noise as they did into
02:14a lot of great sports siblings and you have this with your sisters your sisters
02:18all played hockey your father got you all into this so like was that not a
02:22choice as soon as you guys could pick up a stick like he's getting you and pushing
02:26you out on the rink how did this like how was it growing up in such a hockey
02:29household oh yeah my dad was the one who kind of got us into it he was the one
02:33who played he loved the love the game had it on TV when we were kids you know
02:40every weekend we were Rangers fans so we'd watch them all the time and you
02:46know like you said it was kind of like I had to you know best friends just to
02:50go play hockey with every every day you know like I don't think you know a lot
02:54of people get to do that but you know obviously Chuck you got to do that with
02:57his brother and you know it's so much fun I am definitely lucky lucky to have
03:03them you know just every morning going out there shooting pucks or whatever you
03:09know doing little competitions and stuff like that like it it was a blast and you
03:15know it's definitely nice having them was there a guy there being up being
03:19from the north right and just having ice sports be a part of your life for six
03:27months of the year regardless you know are you shocked at how many kids down
03:33here or into hockey it is unbelievable the amount in warm weather places that
03:40there's a hockey you know youth hockey programs and stuff like that yeah I
03:46think it's gotten better over the years like I think people are starting to
03:50realize how how great of a game we're playing is I think you know the Panthers
03:55over the last couple years I've definitely helped with that you know
03:59with how good they've done and how many you know unreal players they have here
04:03it's it's so fun to watch you know even even before I was here you know just
04:08watching them I was a big fan you know like it's so fun to watch and you know
04:13so I think they had a big big saying that and I think like I said people are
04:18starting to realize that it's a really fun sport and you know you can go you
04:23know play roller hockey or you can go get on the ice like there's multiple
04:27ways you can do it so it's a lot of fun what was your mindset coming into this
04:31season Maggie because like obviously the Panthers have their their championship
04:34run last year you got a little stint with them but full-blown now this year
04:38so like did you wonder is it is a defending champion going to need me or
04:44did you it was it just a matter of like it kind of just came along naturally
04:48like what was your mindset coming into this year before providing as much spark
04:52as you have for the Cats this year yeah I mean like like it was just finding a
04:58way to help this team win was my mindset like it was like I knew I had
05:05confidence in myself that I was good enough to play in the NHL and and do
05:09great there and you know at the start of the year obviously it was a little bit
05:12of a learning curve you know being young you don't know the league obviously so
05:18many good players in this league it's it's the best league in the world for a
05:20reason so I knew there was gonna be good games and bad games you know and I think
05:26you know when I had bad games it was just you know a good thing almost like
05:30it was a you know a learning thing for me and I think it's helped me you know
05:35today that don't do this or do this better you know stuff like that it
05:40really starts to add up and you know once that happens you get a lot of
05:44confidence and you know I'm playing with house money now do you feel up like from
05:50your standpoint like there's obviously a lot of the vets who are gonna be
05:53revised but you know like you look at like a guy like a Lundell who was so
05:56young last year and keen to that like do you lean on almost guys your age like
06:01Spencer Knight being on a big stage early on like the Panthers will believe
06:04in you no matter at what age it is if they feel like they can help you win you
06:07can win yeah I agree Lundy's been a huge help for me you know he's he's went
06:15through what I've gone through you know being a young guy in this league and
06:18learning how to you know play the game the right way and he's obviously a guy
06:23that plays the right way plays great defensively and obviously can do his
06:28thing offensively and you know he's definitely a guy I look up to just
06:33because you know of his age and of how dialed in he is you know everywhere is
06:38it so my first my mistake is the first hockey game I ever went to was a
06:44Red Wings game so watching that hockey and then really liking it because hockey
06:51live is unlike any other sport you don't get the same feel on TV so then I started
06:57going to Michigan games and like what's the transition like because it's not as
07:02physical and it's a little different so when you come when you get to the NHL are
07:09you taken back by how much more physical it is um yeah I'd say so like guys are
07:16bigger guys are I think one thing was they were way smarter like they knew how
07:22to you know take away space for me quicker you know read what I'm doing
07:28before I knew what I was doing it was it was a bit of a transition you know you
07:33could kind of get away with some things in college but not here like they're so
07:38smart and you know you really have to learn you know how to beat guys and how
07:44to create space and you know once once you learn that it's you know the sky's
07:51the limit I think how did you take in this four nations tournament you had so
07:55many teammates dispersed throughout the entire thing basically half of Finland's
08:00team you see Benny be huge last night Matthews obviously making a lot of noise
08:05throughout of all it so as an American were you rooting for USA or did you find
08:10yourself torn because when Bennett's tying things up last night you're like
08:13all right we got teammates doing good too so how did you experience all of
08:16this um it's it's definitely a weird feeling like I was definitely ruined for
08:20USA but you know when you see Benny score a big goal like that you're
08:24definitely happy for him and you know I definitely was it was so fun to watch I
08:30watched every game every minute like I couldn't miss it you know and it was
08:34nice having you know a guy on each team to watch like I don't think anyone else
08:39got to got to see that so you know I was watching pretty carefully and I
08:43definitely had fun watching it for sure did it like did were you surprised like
08:48how much it captivated the nation like it felt like it was gonna be a great
08:52event no matter what but it really felt like it it was at a level I don't even
08:56think the NHL expected it to be at yeah it was crazy like especially that you
09:01know the first USA Canada game was crazy you know I told my two sisters I was
09:07like I can't miss this game and they're like it's alright it's alright we could
09:10we could miss the first period or something I was like no way like and
09:13then obviously with the way the game started I was like you see why I wanted
09:17to watch this it was funny like everyone's talking about it like even I
09:23wouldn't got a haircut the other day and they were talking about it there and you
09:28know it's done a huge thing for the game and you know like I said I think
09:32people are starting to realize you know how fun hockey really is is that because
09:37hockey scuffle yet have I yeah no not yet
09:47playing with you know good Chuck and Bennett you know you're good yeah the
09:55does an event like that now does that become like a bucket list thing for the
10:00career like is that is that now circle you're like I have to be part of this at
10:03some point ah you know I think so like it definitely made me realize how cool
10:09it really was you know because we haven't had something like this for a
10:13little bit now so you kind of you know forget about it I guess in a sense how
10:17cool that you know those moments are and you know hopefully that is a bucket list
10:22thing for me and you know definitely one thing I'm putting on a list for sure I
10:26have a question for you Maggie if you could settle a debate that we were
10:30having earlier on the show today so as a as a New South Floridian a guy living
10:34down here regularly I'm sure you've been to Publix yep if you pre-order a Publix
10:39sub okay and you go there and somebody has taken said sub from the dash but
10:49they paid for it would you still consider that stealing because they took
10:53your sub in particular that you put an order in for that's a good question I've
11:01had that done at my Chipotle it happens all the time at Chipotle like people
11:05just grab the wrong bag and it's definitely not a good feeling when you
11:10find out that you have to take a completely different bowl that you
11:14ordered from so I considered stealing still even though they did pay for it
11:22you're a good person yeah that's right shake your head Leroy you know what you
11:26did yeah you both do the same thing listen I did it with cold cuts stealing
11:32is when you lose something monetary yeah so can you get arrested for it no
11:41absolutely no okay but you're still wrong Leroy yeah no I'm not doing it
11:47while the person's there right and I peruse and I just do a drive-by just to
11:58see what kind of subs are available right they don't know that it was made
12:03or not yeah like I'm not stealing Leroy and first of all Tobin don't say
12:14nothing cuz you do it with the cold cuts that's way different that's just
12:22convenient shopping when you're taking if Mackie is looking forward to his
12:27burrito at that moment it's way different than if I were to take his
12:32rice to cook a burrito later if it's gone he doesn't know whether somebody
12:36took it or it wasn't made until he goes to the employee and asked where is my
12:42sub he's a busy man please make it or what yeah don't remake it but you're a
12:49time I'm curious about this get the sandwich that they didn't grab and the
12:55one that's remade do you at the Panthers have an employee fridge so like we have
13:01a problem of people stealing Leroy's coffee creamer at our radio station
13:05office so with the Panthers is there an area we're like hey somebody brown bagged
13:10it to the rink today don't take their sandwich uh no not really like
13:16everything in the fridge is fair game so yeah we don't have that problem around
13:22here what would you say they have what was why would somebody bring lunch I've
13:27eaten lunch over there I'm sure they have a cafeteria but I was curious if
13:31anybody you know I don't know maybe somebody's you know wife makes a mean a
13:35roast compo yo and they bring it to the and they bring it to the ring I for
13:38leftovers the next day I don't know yeah good question like you you have to know
13:46if you're in the locker room with slobs that there's certain items you can't
13:53leave for anybody to get they ain't gonna be there when you go look that's
13:58just like we had a football we had a refrigerator in a football camp right
14:04there was never anything in it and somebody asked is anybody using this
14:12refrigerator and one of the linemen goes you can use it it's all yours and guess
14:18what happened like you notice yeah is there a number one food thief on the
14:27team is there somebody who you have to keep an eye on like you can't trust your
14:31food around them uh let me think no I honestly say it's me I've done that
14:39accidentally yeah on the road one time it was like a game pregame meal and I
14:49don't think he even knows this to this day but we do like a pasta station and
14:54someone like makes the pasta and right he made the pasta and it was the same
14:59order as mine but the guy hasn't made mine yet so I thinking it was mine I
15:04went and grabbed it and started just eating it and then all of a sudden
15:08greasy gets up and he's like where's my pasta like who ate my pasta and I just
15:14like turned my head hit it a little bit so he doesn't know but I've done that
15:20accidentally well you don't want to you don't want to you don't want to take
15:23that from AJ Greer because that is one of the guys who's gonna start your first
15:26your first hockey scuffle let's keep this quiet hey man what's been a thrill
15:31watching you so far this season we're excited to see you guys get back in
15:35action best of luck the rest of the way thanks for some fun for some time go
15:39blue thank you there you go Mackie Sam is Kevin joining us here on the program
15:46for a little cat
Comments