Ryan, I want to ask you, what impact do you hope that this program will have on all your guests? What do you want the takeaway to be for them?

How important it is to maintain the reef and the water so everywhere, because I've been diving in countries where it's just nothingness.

The reef is dead.

It's just dead and brown.

I've always been curious about what the reef was like 50, 60, 100 years ago.

And I would like to see something remotely close to that nice, healthy, thriving reef moving forward.

So this is a great initiative for us to try to kickstart something like that and hopefully rehabilitate the reef so we get back to nice, gorgeous, healthy reef.

Ryan, I'll start with you.

We haven't talked about this part.

I feel like I've always been the type of person that works hard and like I'm capable.

I know that I can go and work hard, but I got to a point early in my business where I didn't, I didn't really know what to do next.

So our first full month after we moved was actually a pretty good month.

We did like six grand.

And then we did like five.

And then I didn't realize that we have seasonality.

How did that, what happened with that?

So how should marketers evaluate the role of AI advertising within their broader customer acquisition and CX strategy, you know, rather than just treating it as another ad channel?

I've seen this in my career in the past when social kind of came along with ads.

Like I remember trying to convince some of the biggest brands in the world that like this is where, this is where marketing's going.

This is just not a new channel compared to Google.

Like you're going to spend a significant part of your marketing budget.

It's going to bleed into these other channels.

It's going to be really, really important.

So as consumers increasingly engage with AI assistants before visiting a website, how do attribution and customer journey measurement need to evolve?

Right.

And I'm like, all right.

So I went and bought a sheet, which financially was very difficult because it was, you know... $800 for a sheet of steel or whatever back then, which, you know, we'd kill for now.

I had him make a whole sheet of them and I hand ground them, you know, hand profiled them, hand chamfered them, all that.

It was all ground and got them done and got them out to John and they loved them.

You know, it was great.

Had micarta handles and it had a really awful kydex sheath and he got them, he liked them.

you know?

How did that come together in terms of his availability and you ultimately being able to, uh, get this type of return?

Well, I've said I, I, I have, uh, I'm not doing my job if I'm not listening.

So it, it was always, um, um, obviously you're talking to 31 teams, you're talking to agents, you're, you're seeing what is available, what may become available, um, come today as, as July 1 started.

And certain conversations just lead to more conversations, and when it became, uh, apparent that, that, um, you know, a team obviously really wanted Marcus and felt, uh, he was gonna be a p- big part of them trying to take a step towards a Stanley Cup, then, uh, it's something that with a no move, I've got to approach the agent and do that respectively, uh, respectively, and, and, uh, or ser- respectfully, and, um, it came together rather, you know, rather quickly, I would say.

Is it fair to say that you kinda needed to open that room to bring in a guy like Oleksiak 'cause you still had room for the young guys to get opportunities on the back end?

Yes.

By, by no means we're looking at free agency to do anything to block the development or growth or opportunity of our young players.

Uh, when- When Marcus...

Uh, what were the factors that, uh, led to that one?

Well, in all our discussions last night, we, we were talking about, uh, winners.

We were talking about getting players with, with winning habits.

Obviously Caleb was one of them.

Adam was another player that we talked about, with size, with the ability to skate.

Um, he can shoot the puck, but, but t- the character side of it, his interview was exceptional.

People we talked to just, this, this guy is wired the right way, and so we felt, uh, as we got closer to picking, uh, w- we were excited.

Uh, before I let you go, it was interesting, we were talking to Caleb and he was mentioning how he had-- it was so wonderful for him to have his whole family there, Manny there, and he's like, "Manny had no idea [laughs] I was being drafted by the Canucks third overall either." Uh, what was that process like? Like, I know you guys mentioned that Manny stayed away from it completely, but did you talk to him after the, the selection was made? Uh, and, and what was his reaction?

How, uh, where are you getting on that?

Yeah.

As far as the coaching staff here in Vancouver, uh, I hope to be able to have something to you guys in, uh, by early next week.

I think we're in a good spot there.

Obviously, Rich Seely had, had come on and, and, uh, taking a lot in, in a short amount of time, but he is well into the process of filling out the, the staff there.

And as far as, um, you know, any support, more support for myself, uh, it's something that I, a- again, the administrative side, I think at some point I had to park and really start focusing on our hockey team, the draft, free agency.

So that's something I just felt my time was better focused on, on, on the team, the draft, and getting through that point and, and maybe reevaluating things at that point.

What, what do you want fans to know as they sort of eagerly await to see, uh, what news will drop across the next seven days?

Um, [laughs] c- can, can you describe, uh, what your emotions were going through the process when you consider that the moment it was announced that there was gonna be a new general manager, there was a bit of a gap until your announcement?

Uh, yeah.

A- and was very pleased with that.

I, like, I, um, I was really excited to go through the process.

I hadn't gone through a full process like that before.

Um, I think people were, you know, creating a narrative where, oh, you know, why, you're internal, should they know? And, and I felt it was, um, it was exemplary that they decided, hey, we're gonna open this up.

We're gonna go through 20 people.

Um, would, would you describe that as a similar process that, that you felt Manny needed to go through?

And in fact, here we go to Manny Malhotra.

Building everybody inside this morning.

There's a true excitement.

Um, two years ago, gentleman to my left joined the organization, uh, in a head coach capacity in Abbotsford that hopefully one day he would be the head coach here in Vancouver.

Uh, and today it's an honor for me to introduce to you the 23rd head coach in the history of the Vancouver Canucks, Manny Malhotra.

Um, so helping him find those things that are gonna make him be an every day player is, is the goal going into next season.

We've got two more.

One from CBC, person at bottom.

We get to run an organization together.

No, and, and Manny and I discussed that walking over this morning.

Like, it's very surreal that, um, when I think of when I was tasked with starting the, the AHL program in, in Abbotsford essentially from scratch and in COVID, and it was such-- I thought that was such an amazing opportunity to try to create something special from the ground up.

Um, and that was a great journey.

And two years ago, when I really was looking for the next head coach, I, uh, it wanted to be somebody that would continue on what we'd built in Abbotsford, but obviously, um, hopefully one day be the next head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

And that is why I went after Manny at the time, and obviously being able to, to win a championship together, uh, doing it with the right values and, and, uh, treating our players in a certain way that we felt, um, they earned and, and, and having a respect for them with the same, the same ability to hold them accountable and have tough conversations.

This, this, um-This journey has been very surreal, and for us to walk into the arena together in this capacity, I, I don't think...

... that are gonna be part of your future.

Where does his son fit in in terms of drafting gr- overall?

Well, it, it's hard to be ignorant of an internal candidate that, that we obviously have.

So I'm not gonna deflect that.

Um, Manny has, uh, shown his ability to develop young players, to build a connection, and obviously win a championship with a very young group.

So won't be ignorant to the fact that I am gonna speak with him, sit down with him and, and talk about the future.

Um, it just, but as far as, uh, his son or the draft, uh, I'm in no position to change or make decisions based off one or the other.

Um, there will be no sacrifice of, because of, of a father-son relationship, I would say.

Do you see that as one job still, or will you need a couple of people?

How do you go navigating and evaluating Adam Foote, his future here, and also keeping in mind that you have somebody that you trust and know very well and, and, and have had a lot of success with in Manny, who looks poised to take a bigger role, and other teams perhaps wanting to knock on your door and talk to him? Like, how do you go about, about navigating that? 'Cause it, it seems like i- it's not an easy situation to kind of massage when you're trying to make a decision when you have a couple of different forces acting on it.

For sure.

A- and, and I would say, I mean, I think everybody's been very vocal on how, uh, lengthy this whole process was.

And, and, uh, so [laughs] to a lot of, a lot of attention or ti- uh, I'm just literally starting to, uh, to focus on the group, the team, where I want it to go, how we're gonna get there.

Uh, and those are discussions that, that will be right at the top of the, uh, of the list.

But it's, I can't-Uh, I can't make decisions based off of, you know, teams and what they're, what they wanna do.

I've got to sit with Daniel and Henrik, um, look at our strengths, our weaknesses of, as a whole, as an organization.

Uh, are you at a point where you feel like you have untouchables with the veterans, or you're very much open to fully evaluating what to do next and with, with the mind of we have to get younger and have to add more draft picks and prospects, and may have to make some tough decisions on some players who've been known as staples moving forward?

How are you as the general manager going to ensure that it doesn't get to that point in the future? And if you start to sense it, what are some of your plans to make sure it doesn't get to the levels that it has in the past?

Well, I think anybody that has worked with me, uh, alongside me, players that have played with me, they understand there's some real non-negotiables.

And, and before we talk about wins and losses or any getting to that point, the environment will be first and foremost, and that'll be very clear.

The expectation of the players, I, I always talk about the professionalism of how they approach every day and having a plan.

But even more importantly, and probably guys that, that have played for me would tell you, my biggest challenge to them every day is, uh, uh, what is the quality of teammate that you could be for each other today, and what is that, and what does that exist of.

Well, that, that is, that is how you practice.

It's how you push each other to, to be a better player.

Uh, for Ryan, what does your process from this point look as far as making decisions on the rest of your front office, the future of your, uh, assistant general managers, scouting staff, uh, all that kind of stuff? How significant could we expect those changes to be? And when you look to potentially bring new people into the organization, what are the, what's the profile or characteristics you're looking to add to the organization?

How do you decide where to build?

Well, the demand for this is everywhere.

The...

And National Association of Realtors, they did a study that found that every generation would...

the majority would pay a premium to live in a walkable neighborhood, and the problem is that we're just not building enough, and, uh, uh, so the demand for this is many millions of units all over the country.

And, uh, the, the places to go are places that have the right kind of job growth to have a new project and a place that welcomes growth, um, and Tempe was a great first location for us, and that's why here we built the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US.

You, you said wavy ride-hail? I'm not familiar.

Uh, autonomous vehicle ride-hail and the most prominent of those is Waymo.

Developer Ryan Johnson is also a Shoup-inspired urbanist, generally averse to parking, although there is a lot on his complex reserved for retail customers.

What's interesting is if you ask people to visualize what the heat of Phoenix is, it's not 100 or 110.

It's when they went to the grocery store, they walk back to their car in an asphalt parking lot that's got the greenhouse ga- gas effect, and they walk in, it's not 110, it's 175 and they might burn themselves on the seat buckle.

Cul de Sac is currently 85% occupied and there are plans to build hundreds of more units on this 17-acre property.

It's better to build walkable neighborhoods.

It's better for climate, it's better for health, it's better for happiness, it's better for low cost of living, it's better for low cost of government.

Uh, it's, it's a better way to build cities and it makes for a better life.