Ep 81 feat TOLEDO WALLEYE HEAD COACH DAN WATSON

Lake Erie Monsters Vice President Jock Callander holds the International Hockey League's all-time scoring record with 1,402 points. His prolific career saw him score 100+ points five different times in the IHL, and he would have scored more if not for spending parts of five seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins - including being a part of their 1992 Stanley Cup championship team.

Toledo Walleye head coach Dan Watson joins us fresh off the team's thrilling run to the ECHL's Kelly Cup Final. The former Toledo Storm defenseman transitioned into coaching with the Walleye and has accumulated a 347-227-93 record since being elevated to head coach in July 2016. Watson played seven professional seasons in the AHL, UHL, and ECHL and was named the 2004-05 ECHL defensive player of the year with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

Strongsville's Dylan Duke was a member of the United States National Team Development Program for two years and has represented the U. S. internationally twice, including at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championships. He was drafted by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 and scored 10 goals as a freshman this past season at the University of Michigan.Younger brother Tyler followed Dylan’s footsteps to the USNTDP, is eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft coming up two weeks from now, and will join the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fall.

Kerry Bowman and Emily Curlett will lead the newly formed Tier I AAA girls program for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets that is set to begin with a 14U team in the 2022-23 season. Bowman, a former NCAA and pro player, will take the lead as the girls hockey director and 14U head coach. Curlett recently helped the Ohio State Buckeyes to a historic season as they captured the program's first ever NCAA championship, as well as the WCHA playoff title.

The boys sit down with Rob MacKinlay to discuss the non-profit Hockey Players in Business and their upcoming event on June 15. They then dive deep into the Toledo Walleye's run to the Kelly Finals with beat writer Mark Monroe.

Ryan Ward’s hockey journey has taken him to Bowling Green, the OHL, and the pro ranks in both the AHL and NHL, working both behind benches and as a video coach. Now, he takes the helm of the Youngstown Phantoms as the sixth head coach in team history. He tells us how he got started in the game, the different roles he held along the way, and looks ahead to a busy summer building the Phantoms roster for the 2022-23 USHL season. We also get a drop-in guest as fantasy hockey owner Tyler Whidden joins us to drink from the trophy he earned as champion of the BHL.

The boys sit down wth Bob Krosky of the Cleveland Barons to discuss the success of the past season and some young talent drafted recently in the OHL. They also catch up with John Malloy to discuss his Gilmour Lancers run to the school's first-ever state championship.

We sit down with a friend of the show Russ Sinkewich to discuss upcoming spring and summer schedules for the Ohio Hockey Project. We are also joined by Youngstown native and current starting goaltender for the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones Michael Houser to talk growing up in the game, his junior career with the London Knights, making his NHL debut, and his current playoff run with the Cyclones.

John Carroll University head coach Scott Shantery and team captain Brian Russell join the show to look back on the Blue Streaks' run to the championship in College Hockey Mid-America and their upcoming appearance at the ACHA Division I tournament.

Join us as we welcome a panel of media representatives from around the state to preview each of the four OHSAA district playoff brackets leading up to next months state tournament in Columbus. Panel expected to include: Mark Monroe, Toledo Blade; Chris Lillstrung, The News-Herald; Dave Purpura, This Week News.