"(About the 2023 All-Star Game) Also shoutout to Barky—played a lot of defence for us." "That was—just played so loose." "Somehow the only guy in hockey history that would take the face-offs and then play D. Special! Just a special player! Just a Swiss army knife for us, but, uh... yeah, he was... he was great, we had a blast."
B. TKACHUK: I mean, you have a teammate who just seems like he's just always achieving somethin', achieving another trophy—Barky, Lundy, (M. TKACHUK: Mmmhmm) and I know my teammate Matinpalo, um, you know, come home and go back to Finland, gold medal. Just talk about just those guys just being... just winning everywhere they go.
M. TKACHUK: Just probably the pinnacle of a stingy federation now that you mention it. Um... (B. TKACHUK: No, like, the stingiest of them all.) And the best individual, like, players of a stingy federation. Definitely, like—
B. TKACHUK: Yep, yep almost like that's just, like, who they are, is... that's how they play, that's how they are. They're just sting. They're sting.
M. TKACHUK: No, uh, definitely was cheering, uh, for them to win once we got eliminated.
Um... will say, gotta give a shout out to, uh, a couple... uh... a couple of the guys in and around, like, the... you know, some of the Swiss plavers or some guys that work for the team. I wasn't rooting against them because they gave me a lot of great recommendations. Talked to Josi. Um...
Actually, one day there's, like, a middle gym area, and, uh—like, that the teams, like, share basically for warmup, cooldown. Like, basically the same thing as Olympics. Um... and I was chattin' with him for a while one day, unreal guy. I mean, haven't, you know, had, uh... uh... a... a chat with him like that? Um... really, everybody—like him, and one of his other teammates, I can't think of his name... um... were, kind-of, just... being good to us, and just giving us recommendations and stuff, so... uh...
When I say I was rootin' ag—... rootin' for Finland, I don't mean I was rooting against them (Switzerland), but definitely with two of my best buddies in Barky and... and Lundy, like... (B. TKACHUK: What is he? Mr. Las Olas?) Just Mr. Las Olas strikes again. Like, I don't even know the main street in—I don't even know the main street in Helsinki right now, but name that after Lundy. Like, Lundy should own every downtown street in that...
But... but seriously, Barky is... um... I actually got a... a... I won't share, um, my text with him yesterday, but, um... basically—(B. TKACHUK: We'll do it off to the side.) Yeah. Basically, like, saying like...
This guy just... I mean, he's one for one! This—it's great. He's just, like, uh... he's unreal, and he... he leads their team to gold. I mean, the... them playing [the] Czech and then Canada, and then [the] Swiss. Like, that was, kind-of, the gauntlet of the tournament pretty much, uh, to win it, and they did it and...
Just shows, like, how important Barky is and—(B. TKACHUK: Not playing for the whole year, too! Like, that.... like...) Not playing for the whole year, like, how... there's, like, nobody in hockey that can just jump right into the games like that.
And people, like, shit on some of the level-of-play at that tournament? Brady, it's fuckin' good hockey hockey! It's great—no, it's great hockey! It's definitely different hockey, but it's great hockey! It's almost hard—It's... I think it's harder over there than it is in the NHL just because the ice is way bigger, which means that there's less scoring opportunities. People think that bigger ice means, "Oh! Like, highflyin' more chances!' No! If you score early, you can just keep them to the outside the whole game, and all you have to do is get the puck out. It takes, like, ten more seconds to get in. It's crazy! Um...
But for him to go over there in different type of hockey, um, in that setting, and dominate as much as he did—it's just proof to everybody that he's just, you know, one of the greatest players in the world. I'm so happy for him. He deserves it. I saw all the rehab and everything he did this year, and for him to just... after a tough year of everything, just have something to smile about and celebrate and win something.
It's, kind-of, like how we felt after the Olympics, you know? "Whatever happened this year happens, but at least we got to win one of the greatest things ever." And... and... that's the same thing for these guys right now, so... I mean, when you look at it, Barky's three for three, just like, uh... just like me and Teddy [Richards], too! Three for three with winnin' somethin' this year, so gotta take somethin' positive into the summer at least. And, um...
Barky definitely should take that as a positive, and if he plays like that next year, um... I... I... I like the way our team's gonna look at the start, so, um... need that, need him.
Let's not sleep on Lundy, though, either! Like, Lundy's unreal! He would look—he looked unreal over there. He's... he's like Barky, but, like, six years younger (x), so... um...
I thought it was good. Uh... I thought it was a good experience. Would have liked to been over there to play against them (x). Um... but, yeah, they dominate. I'm just happy that, uh... definitely a couple of the teams I was rootin' against, uh... didn't... didn't... win. That's all I'm going to say.
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