The Hockey PDOcast

Garret Hohl joins the show to discuss Patrik Laine and whether he'll annually break our expected goals calculations, whether Paul Maurice is the right coach for the Jets and why they're playing so slowly, and what we can learn from Evander Kane's career arc. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 0:50 Patrick Laine's rookie season 3:10 Laine's Sky High Shooting % 7:40 Matthews vs. Laine in...

James Mirtle joins the show to discuss the historical greatness of this year's top rookies, whether the Leafs can afford to continue playing such a high-octane style with their current personnel, and his interactions with The Most Interesting Man in the Hockey World. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 0:25 How the coach sees it vs. How everyone else sees it 3:15 Dealing with Mike Babcoc...

Carolyn Wilke joins the show to help try and unpack why the Dallas Stars have arguably been the most disappointing team in the league this season, and where they go from here. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:45 Using the bye week to reevaluate 5:30 How much is Lindy Ruff to blame? 11:00 Klingberg and his Defense Partners 14:00 Goaltending & Special Teams 17:30 Jamie Benn's declinin...

Kelly Hrudey joins the show to discuss how much the goaltending position has changed since he played it, the changes he needed to make along the way to stay in the league for a long time, and whether he wishes he came around during a different era. 1:20 Change in height requirement for goalies 7:15 Needing to adapt to have longevity in the league 15:15 Trials and tribulations of being a goalie in...

Uncle Jeff Marek joins the show to discuss the changing coaching landscape around the league, sneaky ways players are cheating the system, and how we can improve the presentation of hockey broadcasts moving forward. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:20 Coaching changes around the League 17:00 Cheating: Passive Interference and Faceoffs 30:00 Changing Hockey Broadcasts for the better...

Jonathan Willis joins the show to help discuss Connor McDavid's greatness, whether there's enough behind him to win now, and why some historical comparables make Milan Lucic's struggles this year even more troublesome. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:00 What makes Connor McDavid so special? 9:30 Is there enough behind McDavid when he's not on the ice? 19:00 Going for it while your...

Matthew Coller joins the show to discuss why the Wild have thrived under Bruce Boudreau this season, and whether they're capable of not only sustaining their play thus far but hitting another gear during the stretch run. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:15 The Sports Scene in Minnesota 3:00 Coaches getting an unfair shake 11:15 The obsession with faceoffs 16:00 Eric Staal's revitali...

Nick Mercadante joins the show to discuss the downtick in league-wide goaltending this season, the especially uncharacteristic individual performances, and how to fix the NHL's back-up goalie problem. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:35 Weird Individual Goalie Performances 9:05 Average Shot Distance 17:25 The Wonky Schedule 21:20 Ben Bishop, Steve Mason, and Brian Elliott 28:00 Cart...

Andrew Berkshire joins the show to help 'adopt' the Montreal Canadiens, and answer the ultimate question of whether or not they're better equipped for success in the postseason than in year's past now that they're less reliant on Carey Price's brilliance. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: f1:45 How bad goaltending did Ken Hitchcock in 9:10 Carey Price's uncharacteristic struggles 13:00...

Craig Custance joins the show to discuss what went wrong this season in St. Louis and whether the Blues were justified in their firing of Ken Hitchcock, why the Maple Leafs look like a team that could skip a few steps in their climb to the top, and what to expect from this year's trade deadline. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 2:51 Should the Maple Leafs try to win now? 10:20 What we...

Alan Wells joins the show to to discuss the Tampa Bay Lightning. What's gone wrong for them this season, are there deeper-rooted issues to worry about or is this season a one-off, and what will they look like in years to come? Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:05 Are the Lightning the league's most disappointing team? 9:30 Issue #1: Suspect Goaltending 12:50 Issue #2: Blueline Person...

Charlie O'Connor joins the show to discuss the sports scene in Philadelphia these days, the uneven path the Flyers have taken to getting where they are this year, and their outlook for the season moving forward. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:05 Sam Hinkie's Legacy 6:10 The path to a Wild Card spot 9:00 Possession vs Scoring chances 13:15 Steve Mason's Struggles 17:45 Dave Hakstol...

Kent Wilson joins the show to help adopt the Calgary Flames, who appear to be some combination of fun, interesting, and legitimately good for really the first time in recent memory. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:40 Recent Flames History 6:50 An Apology to Mikael Backlund 11:30 Monahan with and without Gaudreau 20:50 Appreciating Dougie Hamilton 23:30 Should the Flames be buyers a...

Jon Press joins the show to discuss the elephant in the room that makes it difficult to fully enjoy regular season success as a fan of the Washington Capitals, how this year's team differs from past incarnations, and what the future holds for the organization. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 0:45 The Winning Streak 8:40 The job Brian MacLellan has done 14:45 Trade Deadline Needs 19:0...

Mike Johnson joins the show to help pick this year's All-Stars. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:15 Should we care about the event? 6:30 Atlantic Division All-Stars 24:20 Metro Division All-Stars 33:30 Central Division All-Stars 48:00 Pacific Division All-Stars Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, and Stitcher. All past episodes can be found here in chron...

Jack Han joins the show to discuss how the conventional forechecks team use have changed over time, and how the breakout schemes to combat them have adapted in turn. We also discuss the concepts of 'total hockey', how a coach can tinker with pace depending on the players available, and what to look for when breaking down film. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:15 How different forech...

Jonathan Willis joins the show to help construct a preliminary power rankings list, counting down the teams from 30 to 1. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 0:20 Thomas Drance being hired by the Panthers 2:45 The Cellar-Dwellers 7:45 Spots 28 to 24 21:00 Rounding out the bottom third 25:00 The Edmonton Oilers 28:00 Season's biggest disappointments 30:30 The murky middle tier 44:45 How d...

Prashanth Iyer joins the show to discuss the downward spiral of the Detroit Red Wings, Ken Holland's archaic ways, and whether Jeff Blashill is doing everything he can with the players he's been given. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:00 Pavel Datsyuk's absensce 6:30 Ken Holland's team-building philosophy 10:00 Loyalty and culture 13:00 Jeff Blashill's system and the cards he's been...

Chris Johnston joins the show to help hand out some midseason awards. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:50 Most Disappointing Teams 6:00 Most Surprising Teams 10:50 Jack Adams Trophy 12:30 Lady Byng Trophy 14:20 Selke Trophy 19:40 Calder Trophy 25:40 Norris Trophy 32:15 Vezina Trophy 38:18 Hart Trophy Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher. All past...

Micah Blake McCurdy joins the show to discuss the race for the 1st overall pick, how Darryl Sutter and the Kings have managed to keep chugging along, and help pen a Christmas Wish List. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:00 The Race to the Bottom 4:15 How the Avalanche dig out of their hole 10:15 Darryl Sutter's defensive system 17:25 Tampa Bay Lightning's struggles 23:00 Quality of C...

Jeff Marek joins the show to help preview the upcoming World Junior Championship tournament. Topics include: how this particular one stacks up against ones from past years from an exciting and pedigree level, whether Team Canada brought all of the right players, and which prospects you should be keeping a close eye on. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:15 Prospects, prospects, prospe...

Alex Prewitt joins the show to discuss what it was like to cover Alex Ovechkin on a daily basis, making the jump from being a beat writer to a league-wide features writer, and how we can ask better questions without relying on worn out buzzwords. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:00 Covering Alex Ovechkin 10:24 Working the Daily Beat 16:30 Change in approach writing features for SI 1...

Jonathan Willis joins the show to discuss the staggering differences between Edmonton's numbers when Connor McDavid is on the ice vs. on the bench, why Kris Russell is generating so much discussion and angst amongst people, and whether Peter Chiarelli is purchasing too much snake oil. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 0:30 Connor McDavid vs. Sidney Crosby 10:45 Descriptive stats vs. Pr...

J.R. Lind joins the show to discuss how the Predators have managed to snap out of their early season funk, how David Poile's team-building philosophy dramatically changed on the fly, and how PK Subban represents the type of star that the franchise has never really had before. Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher and can also be streamed straight from this websi...

Nick Mercadante joins the show to discuss the legitimacy of Devan Dubnyk's early success, why no team seems willing to give Andrew Hammond another chance, and how Vegas should approach accumulating goaltending talent this summer. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered: 1:00 Who's the real Devan Dubnyk? 12:45 Is Jimmy Howard back? 19:00 Jhonas Enroth and what teams look for in back-ups 25:40...