A man whose hockey life has taken many great and admirable turns. A Minnesota high-school state champion and University of Minnesota two-time NCAA champion. A Blues player and coach. A highly respected hockey analyst for Blues, Minnesota, New York Islanders and Rangers, and National broadcasts. Part 1 features his early life and Herb Brooks stories.
Memories abound when we chat with Jim, who covered the Blues for the last six years of his heralded sportswriting career. That includes the Blues Stanley Cup run in 2019. A little Rams, and a lot of Blues stories in this one. Enjoy!
Joe recounts his entry into coaching with the Blues and the "tough love" he received from HOF broadcaster Dan Kelly at the start of his illustrious broadcasting career. Also, an amazing serendipitous conversation with John Kelly that is key to his breaks in the business. Thoughts on his time in New York as well.
Jeremy Rutherford- the Blues writer for The Athletic, is also the author of 100 Things Blues Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. We talk about the franchise-changing occurences for The Note and JR adds never-before-heard WOW! nuggets to the story. And JR adds some thoughts about the state of the Blues heading into the '25-'26 season.
Blues fan favorite of the early 2000s. A college star at Western Michigan, a leave-it-all-on-the-ice type when he got to the Blues…and eventually a Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks. Now a hockey analyst for Sportsnet. "Jammer" takes us down memory lane.
Current Blues organist Jeremy Boyer joins us to talk about his tenure at games. But we also focus on the history of Blues legends of the keyboard and their contributions to the great tradition enjoyed by Blues fans since 1967. Jeremy does some playing as well.
Our conversation with Ken Wilson continues in this bonus episode. We hear about his thoughts on broadcasting in 2025, his memoir book, and get his reactions to the names of the people of his career. Enjoy!
Ken Wilson...famous for his "Oh Baby" call after exciting moments in a game...talks about his youth, getting started in calling games, entrance to St. Louis and Blues hockey, and how the "Oh baby" call got started. He also called one of the iconic moments in baseball history while working Cincinnati Reds games. Enjoy our visit with Ken!
Never before heard knee-jerk reactions to the names of the people in their hockey lives. The names of Plager, Hitchcock, Armstrong, Steen, Tarasenko, Perron, Chase, Lidstrom and more come up in this half-hour of fun. Enjoy!
David Backes came to the Blues with high expectations after an outstanding junior hockey and collegiate career. During his captaincy, the Blues went from a struggling team to a playoff team with Cup potential. He remains the only American-born Blues captain in franchise history. Now living in the Nashville area, we catch up with David and his life before, and after, hockey.
He's been a part of Blues game nights for going on four decades. Celebrating Blues goals in his special way has become a tradition and a thorn in the saddle of visiting players. A native St. Louisan Ron Baechle loves the team, the sport, and the fans. Enjoy getting to know more about The Towel Man on this episode!
An NCAA championship with Northern Michigan U. is a highlight of his hockey life. But that was topped by a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in his final year in the NHL. He came to the Blues and became captain at a difficult time in franchise history. Lots of great reminiscing with "Dally" on this one.
They called him "Bass" for short...and "Scud" for identifying his style of play. Bobby Bassen was like a scud missile flying around the rink and blasting the opposition. Small in stature, but huge in impact for the Blues teams of the 1990s. His father, Hank Bassen, was an NHL goalie, so the Calgary native came by his skates naturally. Enjoy the memories!
When every NHL team had someone to "police the rink", Twister was one of the best ever to throw hands in a hockey game. A career cut short by a motorcycle accident, he details some of the details of how he got to the NHL...and how he was determined to stay. And some amazing details on his unfortunate motorcycle incident. Enjoy!
Bonus round with Bowman, Liut, Berenson and Federko. They give their unfiltered impressions of some of the other stars of their lives and careers. Never before seen/heard content. Enjoy!
The first Blues superstar forward and later one of college hockey's all-time great coaches. We visit with "The Red Baron" about his famous 6-goal game, his early exposure to hockey in Saskatchewan, and his transition to coaching legend. He's 85, but you'd never know it...still sharp as can be. Enjoy!
From his early days struggling to make his kids teams in Alberta, to eventual NHL stardom, Garry shares the stories of his time...including that awful day in '77 when he lost a good friend, and we all lost a Blues star, in another Blues Hall-of-Famer Bob Gassoff. Enjoy the Garry Unger story!
Would the Blues have made it without him? No way to know for sure. But many would say hockey in St. Louis would not have been nearly as exciting and interesting had he not been the team's broadcaster in those early days.
From not being allowed to play on Sundays to the NHL and a Blues star in many ways for 40 years. We get the lowdown on a 100 point season in junior hockey and his path to the NHL and becoming a Blues executive.
Keith Tkachuk shares childhood memories, thoughts on being the father of two NHL stars, and other rememberances from a likely Hockey Hall of Fame career.