EPISODE 68 : VANESSA VANDAL

Julie Petry is back on the podcast for a solo flight this time!!! Part way through the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Brij & Kodette manage to find a quiet pause in Julie's busy life ... she's not only a rockin' mom of 3 little dancin' dudes, but a sweet Texan with a magnetic personality. Jules walks us through her brand new co-created business venture “Line Change Clothing Company” with her bestie & fellow Montreal Canadiens teammate Angela Price. The girls chat easily about making the most out of this difficult period in time, respecting their own little “Demon’s”;), briefing Julie's husband, Jeff Petry on the overblown l'incident de Costco and the anxious excitement of the Playoffs ... with the always anticipated Playoff gear that the teams of girls come up with! Go Habs Go!    

It’s time to get to know Francesca Maroon! She’s a feisty, passionate Italian from St. Louis with a fierce love for her family & her hometown. Her journey (the past 2 years especially!!!) with her husband, 2 time back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Patrick Maroon, has been nothing short of insane! Fran shares her own special memories on growing up in her family’s Italian restaurant, celebrating her city’s first Stanley Cup Championship & then heading into 2020 with the "The Big Rig" turned Tamp Bay "Florida Man" to do it again pandemic-style! Emotions soar high in this particular hockey life ~ from Cup celebrations, "The Bubble", personal losses, nuptials & now a baby on the way ~ there’s definitely a lot to cover with this Parade Marshall ;)

Brij and Kodette are back with a great episode featuring Vanessa Vandal ~ a bodacious badass babe who may like to do things a little backwards ;) but is the kind of woman that pays it forward with passion projects, life-long learning and embracing her independent spirit. Join the ladies as they get the details on her Covid wed-gagement to sweetheart David Perron, being the boss of Reserve Interior Design and appreciating none other than her hockey girls! This mom-extraordinaire effortlessly oozes style while also being a protector of self-care & dishing out an impressive eclectic hockey resume to boot!

Brijet and Kodette are back with belly laughs and badassery this week as they finally culminate years of instagram stalking into one hell of a juicy and inspiring podcast.  Genia Tikhonov, not only carries the legacy of her married Tikhonov name but she lives in a constant state of creation in her own right. As an industrial designer, Genia has created protection gear for the likes of Easton, she also discovered her crazy gift of caricature sketches and is planning on writing her future best seller of juicy hockey tales. Genia gives a sampling of her journey respectively, across such leagues as the NHL, AHL, and KHL with her husband, Viktor Tikhonov. Brij and Kodette absolutely eat up her transparency, natural wit,  and dish out mad respect to Genia as she goes from eager participant to "enforcer" against their team's GM in a sold out barn ;) You don't want to miss this one!

Welcome back Hockey Lifer's! This week Kodette and Brij get down for 'that kind of podcast' with Emma Rose, a straight shootin' Mama-to-be, and Fiancé to top-scoring NHL defenseman Tyson Barrie. This high-achieving, take-the-bull-by-the-horns mediation maven is someone you may actually want to get in a bar fight with;) Completely in touch with her emotions; empathy took on a new form of humanity with this one while she used her gift to build her very own namesake company, ROSE RESOLUTIONS. Line up the Jameson & make sure your shoes match because it's time to hit the ground running with this sweet beauty !

It doesn't get any sweeter than this. Welcome, Jenna Hutchinson of "Jenna Rae Cakes" in Winnipeg, MB. She 'rises' to the occasion in everything she does from cake mastery and decor to net-minding and child-raising. A true scientist in the kitchen, she followed her heart and sweet tooth to build her sugar-inspired empire. This self-taught baking boss has gone from the illegal cupcakery world to a namesake baker (& author!!) extending her clientele across North America. Jenna shares how she and her husband, Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Mike Hutchinson, met and how they are navigating these COVID times as a growing family. A family girl at heart, you can't help but want to cheer for her because she handles it all like a beauty. Join Brij & Kodette while they share some insanely fun and relevant future projects (with Em Cave) and secret collaborations. Spoiler Alert *NHL Wives beer league showdown?? 

Today's guest is bringin' it with a full tank ;) ... She's got a lot on the go but Gina Valentine , soon to be Gina ... Gostisbehere (whew that’s a tricky one to say !?! ~ as in Shayne Gostisbehere of the Philadelphia Flyers) is a badass, career-driven woman that anyone would be lucky to have in their hockey family. Her passion & job as a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse, is undeniably one that many wouldn't be able to handle. The ladies talk about celebrating the small moments, wedding planning for the standard off-season nuptials, all the while pre-PRE-gaming ~ and Brij & Kodette are so into it. Buckle up as Gina Valentine brings the love today ... maybe grab a snack baggy of treats, your own “pre-game" (aka bevie/drink/cocktail) & dive in! 

Ladies & Gentlemen ... Hayley Thompson is in the house!!! The girls catch Hayley on a normal day in the not-so-normal-covid2021-hockey life and are briefly interrupted when her fiance Mark Stone (Captain of the Vegas Golden Knights) walks in and shares the team's latest schedule change! She rolls easily with it as the 3 new friends chat about desert living, giving back to the community and her passion for horses / Equestrian riding! Hayley is a Canadian girl with some serious current NHL family connections ... Let's just say she doesn't have a shortage of teams to cheer for !!! Kodette reminds everyone that kissing (ok licking) frogs in the desert could prove deadly. Thank you fairy godmother.  

Celebrating Black History Month with Kevin Weekes, former NHL goaltender, sports broadcaster and history maker himself as the first ever black analyst in hockey, was an honor for Brijet & Kodette. On the heels of a year that magnified racism and brought the words EDUCATE, EMPATHY & COMPASSION to the forefront, today's guest focuses his message of INCLUSIVITY & SERVICE as a great Ambassador of Diversity. "Weekesy" shares his love and gratitude for his family & upbringing while fondly recalling just how enriching his childhood and minor hockey experience was. The ladies experience first hand how he simply leaves people better than when he found them and discover what propels him to move forward and be the badass human that he is each and every day. A man like this reminds us that we all have the power to affect CHANGE, it's what we are going to do with it that really matters. And hey, there are plenty of giggles in the convo too ... Kevin shares some fun stories, hopeful fashion comebacks, plus your hosts can't help but discuss his access to the fountain of youth (nor his "hotness") and can barely bring themselves to end their enjoyable time with him!!! 

The crowd goes wild as Kecia Morway enters the field / takes the mic and joins Kodette & Brij for a championship chat! Besides being an overall amazing woman, Kec (it's pronounced "Keesh" friends;)) has her MAT degree, is a D1 NCAA Women's Soccer Champion, a retired professional soccer player with the Chicago Red Stars, certified nutrition coach & personal training 'student'!!! Her & her fiancé, Riley Sheahan (Buffalo Sabres centerman) are finding their groove in Buffalo while she sets some new goals and continues to be his ultimate DUET partner! Kodette & Brij enjoy bragging about Kec, their husband's home handy-work and the fact that one of them tried out a new recipe ... in the kitchen, not for disaster (or maybe both?!!).