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Frank The Tank
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00:00It's time for Frank Walks. Frank talks while Frank Walks. It's time for Frank Walks.
00:08All right. Hockey season's underway, you know. We got Matt Merles here talking about the
00:14spittin' chicklets. And of course we got Ilio the Iceman. And we're going to talk a little
00:19puck as you go on Frank Walks. And of course you know Frank Walks always hydrated by body
00:25armor. You know, body armor, high quality, all natural, just the best you can get. Nothing
00:35fake in body armor. All right. We got the hockey season. We've been underway here. What's new
00:43at spittin' chicklets this year? Lots new. We've changed the schedule. We go to the main
00:48show Monday and Friday. And then we have the game notes which is Army and myself on Wednesdays
00:53at noon. So we got three days a week bringing the hockey coverage to the people.
00:58Now, of course, we don't know how the whole season's going to play out yet. But one thing
01:04I'm interested in is the Panthers. Two-time Stanley Cup champions. And it looks like the
01:12injuries, is that going to be that big of an issue? Can they overcome these injuries and
01:18be there at the end again? From what I've seen so far, I mean, it's the two best players.
01:23There's the two leaders of the team, which makes it even harder. If they can just hold
01:29on till they get healthy, they are going to probably win the thing again. But early on
01:33here, they are struggling. But isn't Barkoff out with an ACL? Yeah, he's supposed to be
01:37eight to nine months. But I feel like this day and age. That doesn't sound to me. I hear ACL.
01:43I think that's a year-long injury. I cannot envision him being back in March.
01:49So it used to be, back in the old days, these new medical procedures and the recovery stuff,
01:53they're saying he'll be back by playoff time. And if you do get a healthy Barkoff, they're
01:58going to be really tough to beat again. I mean, Kachuk, they expect him back like sometime
02:02in December, I believe. Yeah. Yep. But I think they also have a lot of threat on their tires.
02:08That's the problem. When you do, they've gone to three straight Stanley Cups and you play
02:13an extra 25 games in that kind of environment. Tough hitting. It's not like the regular season
02:19that your devils are good at playing. This is big physical hockey and that's why they
02:23end up winning. But you're right. It does take a wear and tear on your body. And that's
02:28why you do see the injuries. But there's no way I'm betting against them.
02:32Yeah. Well, that happened last year. So Frank, I was sort of against Florida. Same sort of
02:38reasoning as you. They had been to two Cups in a row, long season. But what happened was
02:4410 to 15 games before the regular season ended, they started slow playing their guys. They
02:50took, they had guys to take nights off. They had. Oh, they started playing like they're in
02:55the NBA. Load management. Exactly. Load management. So they finished like five and five and everyone's
03:00like nervous. Oh, Florida's not back. And then they, they wiped the, the floor with Tampa
03:06Bay. So in the first round. And of course, Toronto, Toronto in the playoffs are just, yeah.
03:11I mean, the Maple Leafs, I, I, I find it stunning, the stat. The Maple Leafs have won the second
03:19most Stanley Cups with 13. But they have not been to a Stanley Cup final since there was only
03:25six teams in the league. And that is 1967. Yeah. That's almost 60 years of not being
03:31to the Stanley Cup finals. But they think every year is their year. I mean, that's the Toronto
03:37Maple Leafs. And I, and I've heard the stories how much they're hating Canada. It's like, it's
03:43like they're, they're like the, the Cowboys on steroids, where it's like they're Canada's team.
03:48They, they, they, they try to put it down your throat. Yes. But especially with that, with
03:52that song, the Maple Leaf forever, the maple leaf forever. So it's almost like, yeah. And
04:02this is Canada's team. And all of a sudden everybody would have paid, would have paid Edmonton, Calgary.
04:08They said, fuck that. Well, and if you'll have to listen to Biz talk about him, it's painful, but
04:15Elio and I, we usually have one call before the playoffs start, trying to pick a Stanley
04:19Cup winner. And every time we go through the list, and we can throw out the Maple Leafs
04:23right away. The Maple Leafs are never going to win. Take them right off the board. I mean,
04:28I mean, the seasons are a little different in Canada. I mean, in Toronto, autumn comes in
04:36April, because that's when the Leafs fall. I like, I'm going to steal that one. But I, I see your shirt here, the Olympic
04:45shirt. Oh yeah, we got Olympic year this year. Olympic year, which also could help the Florida
04:49Panthers in their, in their quest, because that's going to be a couple of weeks off. A couple of the
04:53players will play. I think it's like a month. Yeah. So a couple of the guys will be on the teams. About three weeks. Yeah. You know, some
04:58Thins and some Swedes will be on the teams. There'll be some other guys. I think Team USA has a legitimate shot to win the
05:04gold medal this year. Oh yeah. I mean, the Four Nations was the best thing we've ever seen last year.
05:09The only question is, getting back to Leafs, Austin Matthews, please don't choke. I mean, yeah, I know
05:16he's got that Maple Leaf DNA. We got the light. I know we got the, he's got that Maple Leaf DNA. Can't win a
05:22game seven. Yes. Can't win, can't win a clutch game. I mean, let's hope that this year, that Team USA, of
05:29course. Well, you know, if they're healthy, Jack's going to be there. Quinn, maybe Luke gets in.
05:38Yeah, they were talking about that. I mean, I think he's still a little bit of ways. Yeah,
05:42we still got to be. There's so many guys, but you don't know what's going to happen. If there's
05:45injuries and stuff, he's definitely on the, on the, on the short list of guys coming in. Now,
05:50the Devils have Jack Hughes locked up long term. Now they got Luke Hughes locked up for seven years.
05:56Is it only a matter of time before the, the Canucks have to go, okay, here you go.
06:01Yeah. I mean, there's, there's definitely rumors of them three wanting to get together.
06:06I mean, obviously the Devils would be the easiest one to pull off because it's just getting one more
06:10guy there. I mean, Jack Hughes is locked up long term. Luke Hughes is locked up long term. Devils have
06:16some good prospects. I mean, Seamus Casey. That Jack Hughes contract is looking like one of the best
06:24deals ever in hockey history. Eight, eight times, eight million. Yep. Sick, sick deal by him. I mean,
06:31when he is healthy, he's one of the most exciting, best, best players in the NHL. I mean,
06:38the only question is, can he stay healthy? So let me ask you something, Frank, you got,
06:43we all know you're the Mets guy and the Devils guy. How did you get into hockey? How did you become this
06:48crazy Devils fan? Nope. The first time I really followed hockey was 1988
06:58when the Devils like, and as Mickey, as Wayne Gretzky called him, they were a Mickey Mouse franchise.
07:06I mean, I remember the, with the Blizzard game where they had like 300 dirty fans at the game.
07:11But, and that was like the most notable moment. But there are nothing to, you know,
07:18they even thought about them. And all of a sudden, this one year, they just slip in the playoffs.
07:24After the 88 Olympics, Sean Burke came, gave him a little bit of a spark. And the John McClain goal
07:33suddenly put them in the playoffs and they, they upset the Islanders. They beat the Capitals and all
07:38of a sudden they're playing in the, uh, Eastern Conference Finals. And that's kind of like the
07:43first year I really followed hockey was that 88, 88 team. They went to the, uh, they went to the, uh,
07:51they took the, took the Bruins to a game seven and, uh, the seven, the seven game series against the Bruins
07:58was kind of funny because, uh, uh, uh, Jim Schoenfeld was the coach,
08:02uh, got into a tussle, Don Koharski, the ref. And he, uh, Koharski fell and, uh, Koharski claimed that he
08:10was pushed. And, uh, and, uh, and it was like, uh, no, you didn't, I didn't touch you. You fell. Have
08:18another donut. Oh yeah. I remember that clip. I didn't, I didn't remember that. I remember that.
08:24That's awesome. So that was it. And then when they started
08:27when putting away the Stanley Cup, then you became a diehard. I mean, it just incredible.
08:31I never thought they'd actually, never actually thought they'd actually win one. And then they
08:36did that tough series against the Rangers. And it seemed like that they grew out of that. It's like
08:44they lost that, uh, with the match, whole goal that it actually made them a better team.
08:50It actually made a better team. Meanwhile, the Rangers, I mean, the Rangers,
08:54you know, you have, you buy something and they have to rebrand it, like, uh, put a sticker over
08:59something. Yeah. If you actually pulled and peel that sticker off, you'd say, oh, okay, the Rangers
09:03do in the cup. That was just the Oilers. I mean, they had seven, they had eight Oilers on their team,
09:08eight Oilers. All right. Now, Merle's, of course you played, uh, hockey. You had a
09:13couple of, you'd played all over the world. Yeah. World Trevor, a cup of coffee as they,
09:17as we call it in the NHL, in the NHL, even we're in the devil's organization with, uh, Albany.
09:24Yeah. Well, funny enough, that, that one year when Albany, I was there, it was Colorado and
09:27Carolina was splitting them. Oh, it wasn't, it was after the Devils left them? Yeah, it was right
09:31after the Devils left them, but a little known stat. Oh, they went to Lowell. They went to Lowell.
09:34Yeah, they went to Lowell. But the Albany River Rats won the Colder Cup the same year the Devils won
09:39the Stanley Cup. Yes. And, uh, they're one of only two teams to do that. My brother was the stick boy for
09:44that team, that River Rats team. So hockey's been in my family and been in my life this whole time.
09:48Woodshamquill was a big part of that team. He wasn't on the first Stanley Cup, but he was a big
09:52part of the second and third one. And that was, uh, Patrick Elias. Oh yeah. Yep. Patrick Elias was
09:57a big part of that team. Reed Simpson. I think Reed Simpson was one of the two, a few guys that played
10:02on both teams too. So that was really cool how they celebrated there. Then we went down to New Jersey
10:06and celebrate it. And ever since then, you know, it was a dream of mine to play in the NHL and luckily it
10:11happened. So, uh, what were your favorite moments in playing in the NHL? Oh yeah, it's like always
10:18the first game is special because your parents put all this money and time. Like we, you don't have
10:24family vacations when you're a hockey player as a kid. All the money, all the weekend go, go to that.
10:30And, uh, to reward them with the first NHL game was really special. It was opening night.
10:35Mario Lemieux was in the lineup. Um, funny enough, I actually gave him a pass in the last minute and he
10:41hit the post. Oh, I'm such a mush. The puck went down the other end. They scored in the empty net.
10:46We lost three, nothing. But, uh, besides that, it was, it was, you know, a dream come true. I mean,
10:51uh, I look at hockey, I look at the youth hockey and I see all the, uh, when they, uh, they do the
10:59skating at the, uh, the practice facility before the games, they have like a youth team there. They're
11:05coming with these, like, it looks like they're going like, uh, and, uh, outback camping for, uh,
11:10three weeks with those, with those big bags they have to take. Yeah, it's, I mean, it's a lot. The
11:16equipment's expensive, the ice time's expensive, but the way you grow up, you grow up learning how to
11:21be on time. You learn leadership and it's all hockey. People are always good people. So you meet
11:26good friends, your parents meet good friends and it's really the best. It's a small community. Yeah,
11:31it's really the best. Now, when you talk about hockey, you do it from the, uh, the gambling
11:36uh, perspective. Yes. Now, you know, your fans are taking the overs. You're the ice man. Correct.
11:42Why is it taking the overs? Do you know? So what happened was, you got a hot goalie there. Yeah,
11:47it hurts when you get a hot goalie. Um, I, I'm a gambler at nature and I tried gambling in all
11:54different types of sports. No luck. When I got to hockey, I basically last resort, my last hurrah.
12:01And we had some, some luck, uh, betting the overs and I've been five years in a row.
12:06We've had a winning record each year. We haven't made a ton of money, but you know,
12:11to be on the plus side of gambling, uh, as gamblers know is a hard thing to do.
12:16Very tough thing to do. Very tough. I mean, the other side, the other sports,
12:21maybe not so much, but hockey. All right. Well, hockey, it's just anything can happen today.
12:27It could be like a team to tire. You got a team on there. Yeah. Uh,
12:30team looking ahead to like bigger opponents. Yep. I mean, uh, watch it. Wow.
12:39I always wonder how these guys survived. Yeah.
12:41You're not supposed to block the box. Come on. Yeah. Don't block the box.
12:54So we actually talked on game. Even this bus here blocking the box.
12:59We talked about it on game notes, kind of how this all came together. It was, uh, how you're taking
13:03the first responders to the, to the devil's games. Yes.
13:06That's awesome. Tell me a little bit how that started.
13:07Well, basically I'm a devil season ticket holder. I've been season ticket holder since 2019. Not a big deal.
13:12And, uh, so I have two tickets and I would take, uh, Doug's for a while. I take anyone with me
13:20and Jenks would come with the games and, or I have a, uh, a rotation of people who I would take at the
13:26game. Yep. So Jenks came up with the idea. How about I offer it up to, uh, first responders
13:31and we did, and we had like incredible response. Like we had like, uh, 30 people like within like a
13:39couple hours. Great. You're getting a police escort right here because of these tickets you're giving.
13:43So yeah. And it's, uh, it's really good. I think it's actually a good way of giving back
13:50and, uh, inviting somebody there and meeting new people. And I think it's, I really love how it's
13:55working out and, uh, hopefully we can take it all the way to the, uh, uh, all the way to June.
14:04I was gonna say, you got the playoff tickets. Are they still going to be in on the playoff games?
14:07Yeah, sure. Why not? Why not? Why not? I mean, the devils, devils have a, uh, if it clicks right,
14:17it can happen. You know, the one thing that concerns me is
14:19Carolina, they have to figure out how to win in Carolina though. They, they do well against the
14:26Hurricanes at home. So the Hurricanes are going to be like that, that, that mountain to overcome.
14:32Oh yeah. Yeah. They're good. Always with the devils staying healthy.
14:36And they're built for speed and they're small. And I, the Hurricanes, I think the Hurricanes are
14:40a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, especially getting, uh, elders from, uh, Bailey. Yeah.
14:46Yeah. I don't know. He hasn't started off great, but yeah, I think in playoffs, you'll see him,
14:50but they're all kind of, they're kind of small. I don't know. I can't trust Carolina. We were
14:54talking about them and they, they're hard to trust cause they haven't done it until they can do it.
14:59How can we trust them? Yeah. When they get to the, uh, conference finals. So,
15:03yeah, you know, one of these years, I mean, Dallas, I always like Dallas.
15:09Yeah. Dallas, they're, they're, they're going to be tough. If you have a goalie like that,
15:13like you're just, you're always in it. That's why Florida, like, no matter how bad they play,
15:16their goalie keeps them in the game. You guys have Markstrom. He can keep you in any game,
15:21but again, he's got to stay healthy. Though Jake Allen's not a bad backup.
15:25Yeah. Veteran guy, but I don't know if he's going to win you a Stanley cup. No.
15:32What else we got?
15:36Are there any teams this year you see as a possible dark horse that will surprise people? Dark horse.
15:41I like that. My dark horse team is the Canadians. I like Montreal. I think there's still probably a
15:48year or two away, but I, you know, they got into the, they snuck into the playoffs last year.
15:52And I think there's sort of probably be similar this year, maybe seven or eight, but they're building
15:58something. I think with that defenseman, I love that defenseman, that young kid Hudson. Yeah,
16:04he is just... No, Lane Hudson. His brother's Cole Hudson. For a small guy like that, it is just
16:13unbelievable what he does. Yeah, I actually thought they were going to like kind of regress,
16:17but they've been unreal to start the season. I like, I'm telling you, I like this St. Louis Blues team.
16:23They got in last year and they should have beat Winnipeg. And they're going to be like,
16:28if they get into the playoffs, they're always going to be a tough out because they got the goalie
16:31Bennington. They're huge. They play big and hard. Like that's, we see it. Now, last year,
16:38the Rangers went from President's Trophy to out. And then we had the, the Predators had big signings
16:50and then fell flat. Yes. What team this year could be like the, yeah, they're going to fall on our face?
16:59LA Kings. LA Kings could be that kind of team. Bruins. Oh, the Bruins need to rebuild.
17:06They're done. The Bruins are in ruins. The Bruins are in ruins.
17:10But thank you guys for joining us. Thank you. It's going to be an interesting season. I'm looking
17:20forward to the Olympics and then after the Olympics and hopefully the Devils can make some noise and
17:27Team USA can take home the gold. And thank you for joining us. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you,
17:31Frank. Thanks for everything.
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