We're back from our summer vacation! Well, some of us are, anyway. As our dear friend Nick Olczyk transitions to his new home in Utah, we welcome the new host of Signals From the Deep: Piper Shaw! For her inaugural episode, Piper is joined by our guest host for the week, Alison Lukan, giving fans #TheExperience. They break down what fans can expect with the newly launched Kraken Hockey Network, your new local home for Kraken games. We also chat about additions to the coaching staff and roster, the extensions GM Ron Francis signed this offseason, and interview one of the newest faces on the team, Brandon Montour.

Hockey season is right around the corner and there's no better way to kick it off than being at the Kraken's home opening game. Don't miss a moment of the action when you get the Kraken home opener six game pack.

It includes tickets to the home opener plus five other exciting matchups. Join us in the deep and experience the roar of the crowd for every hit, every save and every goal. Get your tickets now before it's too late.

Go to seattlecracken.com ticket packs for more info. Hey Kraken fans.

32 Bar and Grill is excited to announce their new fall menu featuring new sandwiches including the return of the fan favorite prime rib dip and introducing new happy hour offerings.

You can catch all upcoming Kraken games and other big sporting events at 32 Bar and Grill, located inside Kraken Community Iceplex, the home of your Seattle Kraken.

Welcome back. And this is Nick Olczyk signing off. But before I do, I have many thank yous to give.

And it all starts with the greatest producer in all of producing the Grant Beery. Grant and I started signals from the deepest with the help of the Seattle Kraken organization last season.

16 episodes guests from Hockey hall of Famer Grant Fuhrer to the maiden voyage original first podcast episode with JT Brown, Johnny Forslund and Eddie Olczyk, which I go back and listen to pretty frequently when I want to laugh for an hour straight.

And the entire time Grant had an incredible attitude, worked so hard and had to do a good amount of editing because, well, he makes me sound good and without him, we're not on the air or being recorded. So Grant, thank you. And I have to say, kraken fans, you're gonna be in tremendous hands and care with Piper Shaw.

We all know her talented, watching her with this team for the last couple of seasons and I know for a fact she's gonna take the podcast to the next level and be able to do things that I couldn't even think of.

I also wanna thank the Kraken organization for allowing me the opportunity to have an outlet that gives me the chance to talk in a longer format and answer questions and have guests on that are interesting and have so much perspective to offer.

And finally, but most importantly to the Kraken fans, hopefully, in case you had a chance to see my social media posts and you got to feel how thankful I am for all of you. I really hope that you're able to hear it in my voice now without the fans, without you guys, none of this works.

So please continue to support signals from the deep. Continue to support the Seattle Kraken.

And for one final time, for now, I want to say thank you to everybody who has supported me and my time in Seattle. You guys are rock stars and I'm so very thankful to have been part of the Seattle Kraken organization.

Thank you, Nick. Appreciate that send off.

As you are on your way to Salt Lake City, we look forward to seeing you on the broadcast out there with the newest member of the NHL. What that means for us is we are in, I would say, chapter two of signals from the Deep.

And it is my great pleasure to introduce to you our newest host, somebody who you are very familiar with. They've served as the rinkside reporter for the Kraken since our inaugural season.

Wisconsin Badger hockey on Fox Forest, Wisconsin, for three seasons, high school sports for that same network and did a bunch of college athletics for the Big East. NBC Sports Chicago BEDN, FS1. I'm sure I'm missing something in your resume there. Please join me in welcoming Piper Shaw to signals from the deep.

Oh, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for the warm welcome, Grant. I'm really excited to work with you and this is such a fun platform and I'm really excited to see what we do.

I'm very jazzed to have you here. I would say one of our best episodes we've had has been with you and Nick.

It's going to be great to have you as we start this season with, I would say, a completely new direction for the show. What is your thought process on what you want to bring for our listeners?

Yeah, definitely. I think one of the main things I want to bring is some energy.

I want this to be a place that fans want to turn to, to feel more connected to their favorite team in the NHL. Right.

Like, I want to be a go to source for both entertainment and information and celebrate a lot of the work that the Kraken organization does on the ice as well as off of the ice, and just continue to connect with fans and give them more content, give them more Kraken. And I love podcasts. We've talked about that at length off of Mike. I listen to a ton.

So I also just think that this medium is one that is only growing, and I'm excited to continue to grow this with you.

Well, thank you for that. And hopefully my producer duties live up to your expectations.

I'm sure they will. They already have.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Grant. I'm so thrilled to be on this voyage with you from the deep signals from the deep, one could say.

And also, we just want to acknowledge that this podcast is, of course, a broadcast and we are in arm of the very new and exciting Kraken hockey network. I said an arm, but earlier I made the joke that we're like a tentacle of the Kraken hockey network.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

It feels like it's right there. We have to acknowledge it. But in general, you guys, we're really excited about the Kraken Hockey network.

It's a really groundbreaking opportunity and quest that this team has been on to be able to make games more accessible to Kraken fans. So we're really excited. We've been putting in a ton of work here at Kraken HQ.

A lot of really smart and talented, talented people have been busting their tails to make this happen.

But probably one of the most exciting things about all of the exciting things that are coming with this network is the fact that 96% of fans in the Krakens viewing area, that is Washington state, Oregon State, Alaska, they will be able to watch, you will be able to watch Kraken games at no additional cost to you through existing basic cable or prime membership. So if you're in Seattle, the games are largely on Kong tv. That is just over the air tv. If you need an antenna, get an antenna.

$20 on Amazon.

Exactly. And about 15 games are going to be simulcast on King five as well.

And those more, I shouldn't say special, but they're going to have a little bit more zhuzh to them, likely. We're bringing in ESPN legendary anchor Linda Cohn to host those broadcasts for you.

So that's at intermission, pregame, postgame, of course, alongside our great team, including, they love Lee Alison Lucan, who, spoiler alert, you're going to hear from in just a bit here.

But if you live outside of Seattle, then the way that you access, or not just Seattle, but if you live outside of the Krakens market, then the way that you access these games is the same as always. That's going to be through ESPN plus.

And I just wanted to take you through in case you are not familiar with your local news stations where you can find these games over the air if you are in market. So if you live in Portland, that's going to be KGW for you. If you live in Spokane, that's k r e m. If you live in Juneau, Alaska, that is K y e x.

If you live in Anchorage, Kau, Yakima, Kapp, KV, ew, which is the ABC affiliate. And then if you're in Eugene, K E V u K L S R. Another thing that remains unchanged is your great radio team on KJR. Fitz Al, Mike Benton.

They're on deck, ready to rock, ready to bring you the energy as they always do. And then also one note that also remains unchanged. Ten games as of now have been picked up by national tv, as they have always been in the past.

So you're gonna find those on ESPN, ABC, or TNT. So you'll need to turn to those channels for those select games. And you can find all this information on the Kraken's website. Quick Google search.

We really want to spread the word about this.

And one more thing that's really exciting but super nerdy for us production, folks, is all of the graphics, the transitions, the score bug, all that stuff that you're going to see on the broadcast was custom built, custom made, a lot of it, by our team in house here, our great brand team here at the Kraken. And I also got to give a shout out to Ryan Shaber and Pat Brown.

They are our broadcast producer and director, and they have been working their tails off with all new set designs and so much fun stuff to really bring the Kraken to life on tv and have it just oozing throughout everything that we do. So it's so exciting.

And also a note, in case you are hearing this while it's still preseason, our preseason broadcasts are going to be a little bit toned back, just a little bit simplified, like they have always been in the past. So expect a full production. Something more similar to what the regular season is gonna look like on the final pre season game.

With all of that said, all of that out of the way, Grant, you're looking at me with a big smile.

I love it. The Alphabet soup was my favorite part of that. It was great. Getting through those affiliates was. That was a lot. So.

Well, I just. I see people online who are excited, but they're wondering, like, I live in Eugene, where do I get this?

So we're really wanting to get the word out for you guys.

Anyways, I was checking your work the whole time. 100% perfect.

Thank you.

But also, I share your enthusiasm about the score bug. Nothing annoys me more than I'm watching a game and I can't figure out what's going on. The score bug runs the show, and we've got a really good one.

I've seen it. I'm very excited about it.

Every little detail from shots to time on ice. All of those things have been meticulously, meticulously examined in meetings. In meetings and meetings.

You know, everything will probably be a work in progress. Like with all things in hockey and sports, there's a wonderful evolution that gets to happen. But it's so. It's so exciting for us internally.

And with that being said, since it's my first episode here on signals from the deep, I wanted to bring on somebody that is very close to me, very close to our broadcast. And I thought it would only be right if we gave fans the piper and Alison experience. Hello, Alison. Welcome.

I'm so happy to be here. So, so happy with my piper and my grand.

So glad to have you.

We're very happy to have you here. I wanted to start by asking you, what are you the most excited for this season? There's been so much this off season. What are you pumped about?

Yeah, I think it's just a really interesting time. And talking to Yanni Gord yesterday or whatever day, it's already who knows what day blending.

But, you know, a lot of guys have a lot of energy right now, and they're talking about this as an opportunity, a fresh start, and there's a lot of continuity from previous seasons, which I think is important, but then a lot of interesting change.

And, you know, you look at some of the players that are coming in fresh, you look at the players who have recommitted to this franchise to stay, and I think that everyone is looking at it as, okay, we've had highs, we've had lows. We've settled into ourselves now. And now let's start to really see how these pieces come together. We'll see what the games tell us.

But I think it's a really unique opportunity for this group that wants to make something of this season 100%.

And on that note, let's dive into probably some of the really notable changes this offseason. In case you haven't missed it and you're just plugging in to crack it, hockey this fall. Totally get it.

We're just going to catch you up on some of the big news. So we got to start with the coaching staff update.

Coach Bylsma was on the last signals from the deep episode, so if you have not heard that, please go tune into that. Lots of good stuff. Information getting to know him in that he brings with him. Jessica Campbell, Bob Woods, Dave Lowry and Steve Briere remain.

Alison, you have any thoughts on kind of the coaching change turnover there?

Yeah, again, you know, I think much like we just talked about, this is a really great combination of some new, but also some legacy here with Dave Lowry and Steve Brier sticking with the team and players. We've talked to.

Pretty much every player that's been in this organization knows this coaching staff, minus Bob woods, because they've been around, they've been around for camp and Dan and Jess have coached a lot of the younger players who are coming up. So I think, again, just a really nice strategic plan for the coaching staff.

And also what I really, what stuck with me the most when coach Dan was announced as the head coach was how much he talked about really collaborating with players to get the most out of them.

And so I really think the players are excited about building those relationships, becoming better on and off the ice, and we'll hopefully have some cool stories about how the coaching staff is kind of fostering that in the coming weeks.

100%. I already have one that I'm really excited to see what you do with Alison.

The players who've worked with coach Dan and coach Jess in particular speak so highly of them. Even Riker Evans told me the other day that, like, he's like, Jessica and Dan care about you as a person, and I respect that so much.

And to hear that from a young player not only says a lot about Riker, but really about the impression that they have left on him.

A notable thing with that, too. I mean, we're front office staff up here and we've seen Coach Bylsmaso much more just around the office.

And I think he's been working very hard to foster relationships, not only with the players, but also with the entire. And that's been a very welcome change that we've been seeing and wants to know your name. It was very funny to me.

He brought his dog Duchess in the other day and he introduced me to Duchess. It was not the other way around. He said, duchess, this is Grant. It was not.

Grant so very much made sure that I was being introduced to the dog, and I think that kind of shows me what kind of guy we have.

In our new head coach, 100%. And that totally speaks to kind of that sentiment that Riker shared as well. I can see. I can see that if you're living under that kind of rule.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Well, on that note, obviously we love to have coach Bylsma here, but that means that we needed a new reign in Coachella Valley for our Firebirds, of course. So Derek Laksdall is the new head coach of your Coachella Valley Firebirds.

He comes to us via the OHL's Oshawa Generals, Stu Bickel remains in Coachella Valley, and then Brennan Sahni, he comes and joins the coaching staff down there via the WHL Saskatoon Blades. So all the best to Coachella Valley.

It'll be also really fun for fans to kind of keep tabs on the Firebirds as well because that's a pretty big change for that organization as well. And they've had quite a bit of, you know, turnover with those players, too. So good stuff. I'm excited to talk about this.

Here we go.

We gotta get into some of the players.

It's time for hockey.

Some of the players that we have been blessed with or that have come to us over the summer, one of which I think fans have a good reason to be excited about. We're gonna hear from him later in the show.

Brandon Montour comes to us from fresh off of winning the Stanley cup from the Florida Panthers right hand shooting defenseman. His contract, seven years, $50 million over that time. Alison, why should Kraken fans be pumped about this?

Yeah. I mean, again, you have a player. We talked about the value having a core and experience.

He brings that, obviously, but defense is changing in the NHL, right? We are seeing this firsthand, particularly with a player like Vince Dunn and the promise of what Riker Evans is starting to do.

And when you have a player who is really strong defensively, like Brandon Montour is, and pretty much everyone on this crack and blue line, but then can also be so effective at feeding the puck up the ice, you become basically another forward. You're creating that offensive attack more quickly. And that doesn't mean skating fast, it means moving the puck fast so it gets past the other team.

So I think that that ability to contribute on both ends of the ice and also just honestly play a ton of minutes, that's huge. And we know that he can contribute on the power play, that's going to be something to watch is how that all shakes out of.

But again, personality for days and just a really tremendous athlete on the ice. I think that this is going to feed the way that coach Bayelzama and his crew want this team to play this year.

And on top of that, he has an excellent personality, which I think fans will love to get to know and I think will be great for the room as well.

Good for the vibes, for sure. We're all about the vibes.

We are.

Yes.

One thing about the experience, we value the vibes.

We value. Yes.

And Brandon did not come alone. Another defenseman joining him, Josh Mahura, also from the Florida Panthers. He's on a one year deal, $775,000. I'm very excited to have him as well.

He also has good vibes. He's really approachable. It's been nice to get to know him a little bit.

So it's a little early to talk in general about high level hockey stuff, but it's just we're feeling optimistic. We're feeling optimistic. Another player, big piece.

Big for this group, Chandler Stephenson, which, Alison, you learned he does not like to be called Chandler, correct?

Stevie. Stevie is the preferred nickname.

What did he say? Only his grandmother.

Only his mother calls him Chandler. I said, I will take that note. Thank you very much.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to ask him for permission before I start referring to him on air as tv.

That's true, yes.

You know. Cause my go to is typically first name.

Pull back the curtain a little bit like we like to do.

I said when Oliver came in for Oliver, Bjorkstrain came in for his interview the other day, his preseason interview, I was like, hey, Ollie. And he was like, oh, Ollie.

And I was like, to which I objected because that has been a nickname that has been used about that player in the past, 100%.

But I have never to him called him Ollie. But then he was like, no, it's nice. He's like, and I think people are gonna be calling me that more. Cause we got too many B's.

Borgi and Berky and Bjorky. So he's like, maybe we're leaning on Ollie more.

But you've both been here long enough. I think some familiarity is warranted.

I don't disagree. I just kind of err on, you know, the professional side, especially on air. But anyways, let's get talk.

Let's get back to talking about Stevie, shall we? Also, on a seven year deal, $43.75 million value to that contract. He's a center. Alison. Similarly, what does he bring to this team?

What makes him a valuable new piece?

Yeah, and you know, again, I'm going to go back to Montour very quickly because we saw the impact of this team when Vince Dunn unfortunately went out of the lineup with injury. So the front office says we're going to shore that up in double time and they're doing the same thing with Stevie.

I still want to say Chandler with Stevie in that, you know, we saw Alexander Wenberg leaves the organization and center ice was an area that wasn't maybe as strong as it needed to be. And so Stephenson comes in, and this is a player, ironically, that I have just really admired his game for forever.

He's actually the player that I talked about in my screen test for this job. So it's a bit of a full circle moment, but I think it can't be understated what he does. And I asked a lot of the guys over the past couple of days.

We say he's an excellent two way centerman. What does that mean? And so many different things were said. Not only his skating, but his toughness, his ability in the defensive zone.

This is a guy who can contribute offensively.

But I think when you look at how the Kraken want to play supporting the center ice position, as we look at Matty Bonier is doing what he can do, potentially. Shane Wright coming in, Yanni Gord. Of course we know what he brings.

I think this really solidifies that middle position, and I'm tremendously excited to see what he's all about.

I would be tremendously excited to also see that clip of you in your screen test talking about him. And maybe we can do like a compare and contrast someday of you breaking down a Chandler Stephenson play.

Now we'll split screen. That'd be great. Yeah.

Yeah.

Maybe that's, that's secret bonus content that just the experience gets to hoard. I don't know.

We'll see.

So on that note, not only do we have new players, but we have some really exciting extensions that came over the summer as well. We got to start, obviously, with Matty Bonieres. Everybody was waiting on this. We were sitting at the edge of our seat. Turns out it's seven years.

Seven years, $50 million. What do you guys make of that deal? That's a commitment to this player, and that is a commitment from this player to this organization.

What I like about it, obviously, the player is a separate part of what I'm going to say here.

But with this much time, this much term, you look at that dollar amount, and some fans might say that's a lot now, but the expectation is that year over year, the cap is going to go up. So when I look at dollars, I actually like to look at it as percentage of the cap.

And so in four, five years, this is going to be an even smaller percentage of the cap than it is now, which means it's a really nice value for this team, and the player gets security. And Matty told us after he signed this, he said he just, he doesn't love the business side of the sport of his job.

So I think for that reason, too, this is really going to help him continue to be fuller in terms of what he wants to be. And again, you look at a Chandler Stephenson coming in.

There's going to be support both in practices and in games in terms of modeling how to improve little things. And Maddie, you know, we wrote about this when he signed this extension sneakily.

This guy has upped his face off win percentage by, I think it's almost seven or 8% year over year. So Matty is making strides and I personally expect a really nice rebound season from him, particularly offensively.

I think his teammates do, too. We had some of the guys, Jared McCann, Jordan Eberly, just come in and volunteer those thoughts as it, you know, related to Maddie. So love to see it.

Fingers crossed, big commitment. We're excited for it. You know, one of my favorite times of Kraken hockey, Alison is always Tolvie time.

Ellie Tolvin and it's always Tolvie time.

I love when it's Tolvey time. It's just, it's sometimes it's unexpected and it's clutch and I just, we love Tolvie time. So two year extension for him, $6.95 million value there.

Ellie Tolvinen, what's he bring to this team?

I will tell you this, this is, again, you know, I'm not saying this just because we work for this team, but this is one of the best waiver claims, I think, in recent NHL history. Ron Francis did an excellent job here.

The coaching staff lets him to kind of sit with the team to get really comfortable with the systems, then brings him in at the beginning of the calendar year and he just takes off. And Jordan Eberly, this was a player unprompted when he was talking to me.

This was a player Jordan Eberle brought up immediately as how much he can bring, his underrated shot.

When this extension was announced during Dev camp this summer, a cheer went up from the fans, really loud and, you know, I think this is a player who's endeared himself to his fans and again, sneakily good offensively, but we know he's, we don't know where he'll play this year, but he has played a lot with Yanni Gordon, Oliver, Bjork Strand. So they can combine that grindy play that then creates offensive opportunity. And I just love that about Tolby for sure.

I was also told this week that Ellie is one of the best on the team at getting under his teammate's skin, that he's really good at poking and prodding, particularly one Janny Gord. But in general, you know, Janni said.

That about Bjorky, too, so maybe Yanni's just chirping his line. I can see all of his linemates. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Maybe he's just easy to get under, under his skin.

They're trying to deflect. Maybe he's the one that's getting under everybody's face.

He's getting ahead of the narrative there.

Exactly.

All right. I imagine that this one was very exciting for you, Alison. Big cat going to continue to be on the prowl for the Krakens defense.

Four more years, $21 million value to his contract. Adam Larson, you love to see it. A defensive backbone for this group.

I mean, the only person who might be more excited than. Well, there's a lot of us who are excited, but the person who might be most excited might be his partner, Vince Dunn.

These two are just so, so close, and it's really special. We get to see the two of them interact, and they're really good friends. They've really brought out the best in each other's games.

And while we don't, we tried to capture a little bit of it in an article last summer that I, or last season that I tweeted out again when this extension was announced. But I don't think we can understate how much this player is revered and respected in this room.

And it's not just because of all the stuff we don't see that the team keeps to themselves as they should, but also because of how he prepares for the game and plays the game. And so I think that contribution, both in terms of tangibles but intangibles, makes him really, really valuable.

And he's talked about how much he and his family love it here in the area.

And again, as this franchise continues to grow, having not just good players, but players who want to be ambassadors for this organization, I think, is just a massive get. And again, you look at players who, and these names, they're all easy to say good things about who have said, yep, I want to be here.

I want to stay here, and I'm committed to be part of winning here. That's huge, 100%.

And on that note, some of these long term contracts, you look at, you know, seven years for three of these players, four for Larson. What do these signings tell you, Alison, about the front office's priorities?

Yeah, you know, I think one of Ron Francis best traits is his patience. You can look at his ability to not, you know, be trigger happy, to really take his time with evaluation and really strike at the right moments.

We talk about the Tolvin and waiver pickup.

We think about back to the Bjorkstrand trade, taking advantage of a team that had some cap crunch and getting a tremendous player who's paid off here.

But I think what we're seeing now, as you start to fold in some of these bigger free agents is that the front office is saying we are still building and we are going to keep building our young players the right way.

But we are also committed to improving the right now and I think that's a really valuable balance and they've been able to put themselves in the position to make these moves thanks to their patience leading up to this time. But they're saying now it's time to get better and better, even as we wait for our youth to continue to push from within.

And how do you think these signings address some of the concerns that Kraken fans had expressed at the end of last season?

Yeah, you know, and we hinted at this a little bit.

We saw with injuries taking parts of the lineup out, you know, two years ago, part of what helped that team be so successful first and foremost, obviously their talent, but Washington, they were mostly healthy. We didn't have a lot of injuries that playoff year, injuries last year.

And maybe some moves showed us maybe what this team wasn't as deep in skill wise as they needed to be.

And so the front office, in my opinion, reacted to those things and also again, makes a statement and saying we are committed to getting better right now. So I think that this is a good way to say we heard that we weren't where we needed to be.

We also saw what needs to be better or maybe we need more of, and they directly address that. And that's impressive to me.

How do these signings and these extensions bolster the special teams units for the Kraken?

Yeah, this is going to be fun to watch, right?

Because Jared McCann told us at the end of last season that they were starting to change some things with how the power play moved specifically on the ice. Brandon Montour comes in, he can contribute on the power play. Chandler Stephenson can play in a lot of areas as well.

So we've got some new bodies that might give opportunity to themselves, but also other players because of what Montour and Stephenson can do five on five as well.

Then we've got new coaches and what are they going to bring systematically and where are they going to put players and what are they going to do in terms of that movement? We talked about Stu Bickle who's going to stay with the Coachella team, was doing some really exciting things on the penalty kill.

So do some of those philosophy fees trickle on up to the NHL now? So it's going to be about opportunity, it's going to be about strategy, and it's going to be about some new players who can contribute as well.

Zachary related to that, when I was talking to Will Borgen earlier this week, I was asking him about the Larson extension and, you know, for their d core how that kind of pumps them up. And Will said something that I thought was very kind coming from him and he's like Adam, somebody that I really like to watch on the penalty kill.

I just sit and I watch him and I watch how he works and I want to be that level of consistent at killing penalties. So obviously we know the big cats game on the PK super consistent. But I just liked that, that little note, you know, I thought that was nice.

It's always nice hearing that. So you mentioned Coachella Valley a little bit as well. Young upcoming talent, just who stands out to you in terms of the future of the Kraken?

Yeah, I think. And again, what's. Because what's important to remember is people can be exciting and stand out and still maybe not yet be at the NHL level.

So that's what's fun about going to dev camp in the summer and following the draft. Obviously Berkeley Catton has looked really strong. I think it's going to be really interesting.

And these are names that Kraken fans already know, but Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright did not have to go to the prospect tournament that the team played in in LA. Kind of a vote of confidence of where their game is. Still a lot to figure out, but that's a really nice sign in terms of development.

And I think of my great colleague Bob Condor who was in LA. He wrote tremendous capturing the moments in the game and also some of the players.

And, you know, he talked about Andre Lashko just having a really strong tournament and Jagger Firkus continuing to show us that offensively he can contribute, still rounding out his game.

And I must say, you know, another player that I am really excited to talk about is, you know, there's Nathan Villeneuve, who's got a little bit of an edge to him, and then Yanni Newman, this is a big kid, comes over from Europe at the end of last season and that is a shot. That is a shot, yes.

So what he can do, I'm really curious as how his game will evolve and what's going to be his first pro season in the AHL, maybe to start and see what happens from there.

And you know that when you talk to other prospects and they're already aware of him, as they have told me voluntarily, they bring him up. That's a vote of confidence, especially when you're talking to teenagers, for sure.

You know, so, so much to be optimistic about, whether it's the Coachella Valley firebirds and the future of the organization or just right now in the hockey that we're about to get to see, I'm jazzed. Plus the Kraken hockey network into the mix.

So much stuff. The vibes are good.

The vibes are currently high, in case you can't tell. In case you can't tell. But Alison, thank you very much for joining me for this episode. Grant, thank you as well.

And on that note, we're going to toss it to your introduction to the bright and shining personality that is Brandon Monteur. Enjoy. Brandon, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

So we wanted to keep this conversation, this interview, a little light, a little fun, maybe shy away from the hockey talk right out of the gates here. And of course, Alison Lucan is here with us as well.

So one thing that I love about the Seattle Kraken and the Seattle area in general is that there's a real love for music in this city. We know that you have a history of locker room djing, but what are your go to genres? What is your go to kind of music away from the locker room?

I kind of change it, to be honest. You know, obviously there's a lot of rap.

I mean, I tend to, you know, gravitate towards rap in the locker room, especially before games, depending on the guys, too. You know, there's a Europeans that like, you know, there's Russians that like russian or like, not russian music, but, you know, types of music.

Swedes that like, you know, swedish house mafia, finns that like, you know, techno.

So it kind of varies, but teams are usually the same, but kind of everything, to be honest, I don't have a specific favorite, just kind of something light and easy. Usually, you know, it's funny because usually wherever I am, I'm tending, you know, even at home, I have music on in the background or something.

But I might, you know, my genres, they vary.

Do you have any favorite artists?

Yeah, like lumineers, you know, I like that type of music. You know, then you can go to rap like a little baby. Like, you know, again, it changes.

Like, I listen to, you know, my dad obviously is a big fan of the Beatles. Like, I'm not afraid to listen to the, you know. So it changes.

Do you have any love for grunge music or rock music at all?

Well, I know that's a big thing here. Yes, that's something.

My older brother, you know, he probably likes that more, but definitely I would love to get involved and, you know, not much of a screamo, and I don't know how much that is here, but, you know, like, nirvana, you know, who else is from your.

Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam. Like, that's. I could. I can listen to that Macklemore. Like, that's a little. He's. He's from here, right? Yeah.

But, yeah, I'm more than, you know, happy to listen to any of that type of music.

What was your first concert?

Oh, that's a long time ago.

Good. That's awesome.

I don't know, actually. Like, first one. That's tough. I don't know. Maybe like, a cold play, something like that. I don't know.

There's a lot back home in the summer, and we'd go to them, you know, every week, you know, Wednesdays, weekends. So I've been to plenty. I've been a lot of post Malone. That's a. That's a. That's a good. Good artist.

Are you a tragically hip fan?

Tragically hip, yeah. Yeah.

Favorite song?

Oh, I don't know. You have to give me a list here.

Oh, I can't give you a whole. I'm not as dedicated. I'm on.

If I saw them, I couldn't think of a, like. I mean, if you said one, I'd probably know it, but I wouldn't even know one off my. Off my hand.

I think everyone knows. Ten mission cap. Right? That's the one. Everyone.

Oh, 50 mission captain.

Yeah. Great band, though.

Yeah.

Do you have a most memorable concert?

Most memorable? Maybe post Malone. We got to hang out with them. A group of us got to hang out with them before the concert. So to kind of experience, you know, it's.

It's actually a. You know, if I wasn't a hockey player, it'd be cool to kind of be that big, you know, and kind of.

And you get in awe, especially with these guys that go out there and perform in front of thousands of people, and it's just you up there and you might have a band, but it's like, for him, it's just him singing and he kind of runs everything. Coldplay, same thing.

But to kind of experience what he's all about beforehand, and then he kind of just changes into a completely different human being. It's pretty cool to see. So, I mean, that's probably a good one.

What was he like?

I mean, I don't know. I can't really, you know, crap on him too much. But he was playing, like, a lot of beer pong. No, like, that's what he's known for, though.

That's his brand.

Baggy, like, sloppy pants, bare feet, casual. Yeah, I think. I think just the way he looks is the way it kind of is, you know?

Yeah.

So this takes us to a very important question that is post malone adjacent, and we accept all answers. There will be no judgment. Your thoughts on Taylor Swift?

I like Taylor Swift.

Okay.

Obviously she's got mixed reactions, I guess, but, yeah, I mean, she's so big and has so many fans, but, you know, I liked some of her music for sure.

Any favorites or maybe just a casual.

I don't know if I have a favorite one. Yeah, just a casual. If it's on, I'm not quickly turning it off. Yeah, obviously she's bigger.

I mean, seems like she's bigger, obviously because she's with Travis, Kelsey, but.

Or Travis is bigger.

Or both. I mean, or you just hear. Yeah, that's what I mean. You hear more about it.

Yeah, for sure.

Cause she's gotta be the biggest in the world, I would think. Right. But, yeah, I mean, I'm not changing her music if it's on.

Solid transitioning a little bit.

Okay.

What's your relationship like with one JT Brown?

So, JT, we're on the same team in Anaheim a year or two, but he actually sat beside me on the planes. Did he tell you guys that one?

He gave us a hint.

He gave you a hint?

He said we should ask.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we were pretty close, obviously, I was a younger guy. He was kind of mixed in his career, found a good spot in Anaheim, played.

We had some good teams. But obviously you guys know him.

He's a, you know, great, great guy, great family, and it's good to kind of see, you know, see him doing something, you know, it's funny now that now that I'm a little.

I'm still young, but a little older and guys that you played with, Stu Bickles, another guy that's a coach, and I've played with these guys, so to kind of see what they're doing outside of hockey is pretty cool.

JT did tell us there was a certain game used to play on Switch a lot. We are big. Switch aficionados as well, so.

So that was the thing is, like, I'm not much into video games. I know he's. That's. That's one of his passions, but he would always be playing switch, so I obviously had to get one, you know, me being younger.

So we were playing, I don't even know, like, basketball, but, yeah, you'd battle. We had a lot of battles. It's, you know, going from Anaheim, especially. Even here or Florida, you got long flights, so that's easy to pass time.

And me and JT obviously had fun doing that.

We have come to know and love him. We love him. Loves to debate anything. How would you describe JT? What's his trademark behavior or trait?

Yeah, I mean, he's good, too, because he's not one that you're gonna, like, fight with. It's like an easy bickering, you know? But, yeah, obviously, JT knows his stuff, and he seems like he knows a little bit about everything.

He would agree.

He certainly would agree. He. He's got a lot of opinions. Going back to the question about the switch, are you familiar with the game Mario Kart at all?

Yeah. Yeah.

That is a very popular game amongst your teammates, particularly on the plane. So do you still have that switch?

It might be, but that's. I mean, I won't be probably a part of that. I mean, I. Guys.

I mean, it seems like more guys talk about playing video games on this and this on this team, but, yeah, maybe they. Someone convinces me to get back on it. I don't know. I'm more like, just find a new tv show.

Do you know the game super talk?

No.

So Yanni introduced this to. It's kind of like, um, car cheese, but it's like a board.

It's very unique.

It's. Yeah, no, it's actually.

I have no idea. It's very bizarre.

But. But he will. He will introduce you to it. They get. It gets very competitive, from what we understand.

Is it like a card game?

It's cards, but also, it almost looks.

Like cribbage, kind of, in a way. If you've had. If you're familiar with cribbage, there's a.

Board with balls that move around and people cheat.

And there's definitely an article on it online somewhere.

I wrote it.

Yes. Many movies.

You can tell how much I retain.

Yeah. I've never been invited to play that game with them on the plane, but Mario Kart, I've been in a tournament or two.

Oh, you're getting there. Okay.

I don't know. Oliver was like, yeah, sure, Piper. I was like, I don't know what's going on with my account? And he's like, okay, okay, it's your account there.

I wanted to ask you, what's the significance of your jersey number, if anything?

So when I first started playing junior hockey, it was one number that kind of just came to me, really? And then I've had that number, luckily, pretty well my whole career.

I went to school and they had numbers one to 30, and they told me that they could customize one to 62. I'm like, I'm not going to be that guy, so I can't be coming in new and having this odd number. So I just changed to 26.

So if I was never 62, it'd be 26. And, yeah, I mean, it just kind of looks good on the back of the jersey, I think, and I'll try to wear that, you know, for the rest of my career.

Yeah. What's your ideal way to spend an off day? On the road.

On the road? I like to get out a little bit, kind of. I mean, obviously, hopefully, it's nice out. Kind of just see what the city has to offer.

I think I've been in the league and been to these cities long enough, wherever. I kind of know what they're all about or kind of spots that I like or little things like that.

But I'm not one to kind of sit in your hotel room and kind of, you know, marinate there all day. So I like to get out and about and kind of see what's going on.

Do you have any favorite spots, any restaurants, or, like, go to, like, when I'm in that city, I gotta go there.

No, I'm probably not specifically. I like. I mean, every city seems like they, you know, have a new restaurant or have a really nice restaurant come up, you know, every year.

Like, let's go. Let's get, you know, a big group. Dinners are a little bit longer, but, yeah, that's how we kind of.

Would you consider yourself somebody willing to gather that group? Like, will you send out the text and organize?

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

The team chat will be lit up is what we're doing. Okay. I have a. We have two dogs, one the mutt, but one's a goldendoodle. I don't know. I feel like. Like every hockey player is getting a golden doodle.

Is this a thing, or is it just.

I mean, we like the dog, obviously, because he doesn't shed. He's got. It's tough with those two because they got allergies.

Mm hmm.

He's got allergies. So, I mean, he sheds because he bites his hair off. Poor guy.

Yeah, but, yeah, he doesn't shed, but seems like a lot of people have golden doodles, for sure.

Yeah.

He's, you know, almost five years old now, so we had him for a while and very, you know, energetic, for sure.

Okay, well, and your thoughts on cats?

Not a big cat guy.

That's cool. We allow it.

I'm not a big cat guy. My younger brother is.

He has two cats, and I've never been to his apartment, but I just joke with him saying, because he's got cats, I'm like, I can't believe we got one of us that's a cat guy. Come on. I love my cats.

Can you introduce our fans to your dogs? What are their kind of energies and their names?

Yeah, so the older one's ginger. She's a mutt mix of vishla, medium sized dog. She's about probably 40 pounds, 45 pounds, but very, very, you know, high alert.

It seems like when you take her for walks, you don't really want to take her for walks because she's scared of everything. So if you kind of make a subtle move, she'll jump or, like, she's, like, always looking.

So luckily, we have a backyard that we can just let her run up there, but, you know, she'll chase balls all day. And then the other one, he's a little younger, and that's Libby. Short form for LeBron. Yeah. And he's his staple, actually, is.

Ever since he came to us, I've always, you know, went to the, you know, groomers and made sure he had a mohawk. So he's known for the, you know, the Mohawk. He's always has the Mohawk. I have to show you guys pictures one day, but again, he's smaller.

He's about 30 pounds. But this guy's not afraid of, you know, a dog that's a hundred pounds. It's annoying because it's like his shower or no show.

It's funny because it's like, Ginger's my wife's dog. Or, I mean, our dog, but gravitates towards her, and Libby comes to gravitate towards me.

And it's funny because it's like when you have a dog, he kind of like, is you. You know? So Libby's like. Libby's like me and Jinder's like her. It's funny, but, yeah, great dogs.

I am curious to have Libby meet Jared McCann's dog because Jared McCann has a corgi named Cheddar who is very popular.

Oh, yeah.

Among kraken nation. Yes. Very popular.

Yeah. See, so Libby's annoying because he's. If he. If you're. I mean, once you get to know him, it's easier. But, like, he's always, like, in your.

In your grill. Like, not like any dog. He's like, he's just annoying, you know? He's like, get away from me. But he's like, no, no.

Like, this is my show and not no one else's.

You compared this dog to yourself? That's what I was gonna say.

It was like, okay, so I don't. Yeah, maybe I explained that a little wrong, but, yeah, just, I mean, he's. He's never backing down, which is annoying sometimes, but it's.

He's a good dog.

You could be a pest on the ice, though.

100%.

Maybe that's what I'm referring to.

Yeah. Yeah. That's where it comes from.

And you played lacrosse as well, right? What position did you play in? Lacrosse.

So it's box lacrosse and more offense, but it was transition. I was always one to be in shape and be able to run a lot, so I never really came off the floor. I was just offense, defense, offense, defense.

And, yeah, played my whole entire life.

Yeah, I used to play many moons ago. I was center, but I was nowhere near as good.

I'm sure you mentioned your wife and your dogs, but what is your journey and father been like?

Fatherhood been like, yeah, it's been good. It's been.

Obviously, it's nice to kind of, you know, our family growing, and we have a baby girl coming soon, but it's nice to come home, especially if it's, you know, down day or an update or the team's doing bad or don't matter, you know, what's going on, you know, you always come home. And now that he's starting to kind of react a little bit more and growing, it's always smiling.

You know, I could say he's got somewhat of a similar personality to me and seems like he's always in a good mood, so, yeah, it's crazy, obviously, how time your life flies by and see them grow so quick.

If there was one thing that you would want Kraken fans to know about you, what would that be?

Just that I'm easygoing, I think. Very light, always in a good mood, and I think that's what I bring every day.

We were talking because we're getting to know you. And your nickname in the room is Monty, correct?

Usually, yeah, usually.

Okay, so here's a question. We know hockey culture, right, is you add an er or a y to the end of a short.

Why would we not maybe explore changing nicknames, like, to what someone does, like you're shooter or you're Dasher, or you're. How can we shake up the hockey nickname history? Or should we leave it alone?

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, just whatever is easiest, I think. You know, I think it's just like, I like jock. Like my heroes is just Muzz Muz.

That's.

That's good.

And, I mean, he went. I mean, I call him Muzz Turd, but it changed. I mean, I think it's just whatever's easiest with guys. And, you know, it's fun coming to new teams, too.

And, you know, you kind of make your own nicknames to guys. And I think that's a big thing for me, is I am always coming up with, you know, some sort of nickname for somebody.

So I'll definitely have something new with these guys.

Now, if you don't, like, for example, like, Oliver Bjorkstrand has acquired quite a few over his career. Are you allowed to say, I don't like those two? I like this one. How do you steer it towards the nickname that you like?

I mean, especially being a european, I think he seems like he's more on the quiet side. So if he doesn't like a nickname, I'm sure he's not saying anything to anybody.

He's sneaky. He's sneaky.

Okay, so, I mean, see, that's something that I'll learn, but, yeah, just speak up and just, you know, tell them that that's not what you want to be called, I guess.

You said you have other nicknames. Are they shareable on a podcast?

Um, what people can call, I mean, big one. Is money, obviously. Monty kid fella is another one, obviously. Yeah, Monty kid is a big one. Shane O'Brien, you know, the missing Curfew podcast?

He started that.

Okay.

When I first put, when I actually played with him and Stu Bickle and in San Diego, he started Monty kid. So that those are probably the bigger, bigger ones.

Maybe we'll have to come up with our own podcast nickname for you.

I like that.

I like that.

That's good.

Awesome. Well, thank you for joining us for this show. We're so happy you're here. We think Kraken fans are very happy that you're here, and this was great.

Thank you.

I appreciate it, guys.

Thank you so much.

Alison, what a fun interview with Braden.

He's just. We've had the opportunity to talk to him a couple times leading up to this interview, and he's just really been a delight.

We know he's going to be awesome on the ice, but I think this is someone who's just really going to be a pleasure and great energy around the team.

Morgan? Absolutely.

I think that he's somebody that fans are going to enjoy getting to know as a person, as a human, obviously a ton of personality, super vibrant guy, but also such a skilled player. So what a delight. That was great to have him. Alison, thank you so much for being here for this. It feels like it's a special edition.

It's been a day, but it does feel like it's a big episode.

It's your first day, so we'll call it that.

We're dropping the anchor on a new adventure. Wow.

There you go.

And as I always notoriously like to say to you on air, Alison, thank you for your insight. As always.

It was an experience.

All right, we will see you all here for our next episode of Signals from the Deep.

Please don't forget to rate subscribe, give us a review if you're enjoying the show, and come back because we're really excited to continue to bring you some entertaining and I informative, cracking content every two weeks now.

Every two weeks we're doing this every two weeks. You can set your watch to it.

Yeah, Fridays. We'll see you here. Signals from the deep signing off.

Thanks, y'all.

Signals from the Deep is the official podcast of the Seattle Kraken, hosted by Piper Shaw and produced by me, Grant Beery. Music by Benny Drawbars. Have a question for us?