Kind of, could you take us through kind of your journey from, I've got to imagine you had a hockey stick in your hand, you know, from like age four, but like, how do you, you know, kind of take your, our path, your path to pro baseball?

Yeah, so as a Canadian baseball player, it's a little more unique, I guess, in the path that I would take.

As you said, I did play hockey for like my whole life growing up up until COVID probably is what kind of forced me to have that switch into baseball because it was really the only thing that was open like we couldn't play hockey in the winter because the ranks were shut down because of COVID right so that's kind of what allowed me to do that and then they run a really great program with the junior national team which they would take us to the DR to play the DSL teams and to Florida to play the complex teams and extended spring training that's kind of the first exposure that I really got.

And like you mentioned that the blaze trip, the Langley blaze trip that they took us to Arizona and we played a lot of the spring training teams and a lot of the JUCOs in Arizona as well.

And I think that the, the, Like the hometown baseball, like the leagues in Canada is getting more competitive every day.

Like the talent there is growing a ton.

And like those programs, like the Blue Jays Canadian Future Showcase that they have at the Rogers Center, that's great for exposure.

How has that kind of progressed through the last few years for you?

How familiar were you with these guys? Did you play with them, against them? How much do you talk to them now? Is there a bigger Alberta baseball scene than people may know?

Yeah, absolutely.

I would definitely say Alberta baseball has grown enormously, especially over the last five years.

I think it's with all the opportunity people are getting these days in terms of going to attend college baseball programs down south in the States.

And then with the Blue Jays having so much success, it kind of encourages young kids to kind of get into it.

So that's kind of what has kind of improved the program in terms of that.

And then in terms of playing with those guys, I had played against and played with Eric since...

Did you get much interest from other schools in the States? What was the timeline like there in terms of your commitment? And did you get much interest from teams other than the Rays leading up to the draft?

with everything going on in Bowling Green compared to like a lot of the same guys I'm sure but in a general sense does this team feel any different from uh Charleston last year

I mean yeah it's a lot of the same guys and some of the same coaches but it's just different is like this is one of the most powerful stack teams I've ever played on like obviously I think we're one of the best teams in the minor leagues all together and We've been playing really well and it's been really good because I think hitting is super contagious and when you're playing with a bunch of guys, one through nine, who's absolutely raking.

I think our bottom three, because at the top three on every other team in the league, I think we're just an absolute powerhouse of a team.

Everybody knows their role and does their job and we really help out each other and I think it's been really good.

this year with everything going on in Bowling Green compared to like a lot of the same guys I'm sure but in a general sense does this team feel any different from uh Charleston last year

I mean yeah it's a lot of the same guys and some of the same coaches but it's just different as like this is one of the most powerful stack teams I've ever played on like obviously I think we're one of the best teams in the minor leagues all together and We've been playing really well and it's been really good because I think hitting is super contagious and when you're playing with a bunch of guys, one through nine, who's absolutely raking.

I think our bottom three, because at the top three on every other team in the league, I think we're just an absolute powerhouse of a team.

Everybody knows their role and does their job and we really help out each other and I think it's been really good.

Um, where are you at kind of as far as your, your game calling and your receiving behind the plate right now?

Yeah, I mean, that, that stuff was a lot when, when I was younger.

Obviously getting into catching, I was a nerd and I loved YouTube, and that was kind of my start.

And then there were some guys that, that get...

I, I need to credit that were around our, our, uh, our home in central Alberta.

There was a guy that my dad played with that just started getting into catching coaching, and he was kind of, he was kind of in my back, my back pocket a little bit.

He w- he would do a camp once a year I would go to, and I would kind of learn from him when I was young, and that was kind of my start into it.

You know, what do you, what do you reflect on most about it, and how do you think it's shaped who you are as a baseball player now?

And how did you grow up playing baseball? As you mentioned, it's really cold up there, and I guess the warm weather sticks around for what, four months, four or five months? Yeah.

Yeah, so I was always hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer.

Obviously, my sports were super influenced by my dad, who played both of them, and he was really good at both of them, and he coached me in hockey and in baseball.

Yeah, I just think it comes from just all the extra work we did, whether it was just go hit it in the park or play catch or whatever, and I think that I just really fell in love with doing that.

And my dad coached me right from day one, and I just was lucky enough to continue to play basketball get all the opportunities in middle school and high school, just continue to go play on Team Alberta or whatever.

And I think that's what made me better and all those experiences.

And I was playing hockey at a pretty decently high level as well as along with baseball and then kind of COVID hit in 2020 there.

Can you describe what that day was like for you and your family and your dad, especially?