Bill Muckalt

For people way back when, 'cause I do not remember, Alexei Yashin, of course, sat out an entire year in a contract dispute here in Ottawa in '99 or thereabouts, and then was forced to.

They said, "Nope, you actually have to serve out that final year of your contract." So he came back and played for Ottawa for the entire year before he ends up getting traded to the Islanders, in what turned out to be obviously a great trade for Ottawa, Spezza, and Chara, and of course, Bill Muckalt coming the other way.

Uh, I do not remember what it was the Ottawa fan reaction was to Yashin when he came back in after sitting out a year.

I have no memory of that.

And I don't think they're interested in trying it.

And I think some of the guys he got out of the portal, I'm talking about Bill Muckalt now, were guys that were looking for stability.

And that's what's going to balance scales to me across college hockey.

You're always going to have the big schools, the blue bloods, so to speak, that can throw dollars at you and draw the best players and the top draft picks and all that.

And we've seen him.

We've seen Bill Muckalt.

Now, of course, we have Keith Fisher, a But the Maryville side of things is really the one that caught my eye because, Jeff, I don't know if I told you this, but I was sitting in Coach Berman's office at the U of A when – john hogan got the call and the uh invitation so to speak of employment to to start this program at maryville and uh everybody just kind of chuckled and said yeah there's no way i mean john was a walk-on at at arizona on the club program along with his brother toppy and and all of a sudden he says no why why can't i do this And he went back home, so to speak, where he was born and raised.

And there was a pile of dirt.