Hello hockey fans, and welcome to The Vegas Hockey Podcast! Since publishing our first episode featuring special guest Clint Malarchuk, https://soundcloud.com/vegashockeypodcast/clint-malarchuk  the feedback from everyone has been great. Many of you have reached out to engage us in some great conversation about the NHL expansion possibilities in Quebec, Seattle, and right here in Las Vegas. Tom and I hope any city that wants an NHL team gets one, and you won’t see or hear us discrediting any other city or fan base just to make a case for Las Vegas. if our city is attacked, however, we will defend her with vigor, so let it be known the gauntlets will be thrown down! (GoodWill Hunting reference) lol

In our first Vegas Hockey Podcast show, we interviewed ten year NHL vet Clint Malarchuk about his new book and his time spent playing hockey here for the IHL Las Vegas Thunder during the mid 90’s. The conversation was amazing, and we can’t thank Clint enough for taking so much time out of his schedule to spend with us. His new book, his first, A Matter of Inches, How I Survived in The Crease and Beyond, or in Canada the title is The Crazy Game, Published by Triumph Books, details a lifelong struggle with OCD, anxiety disorders and depressions that nearly killed him. His openness and humble frankness when talking about these sicknesses he dealt with is not to be missed. His reflections about his time in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques and later, with the Las Vegas Thunder as a player, Assistant Coach, Head Coach and Assistant GM will definitely surprise most hockey fans!  Here are some outtakes from the show:

People ask me if it was therapeutic to write the book, and no, it was almost counter productive in some ways.-Clint

Yes, masking all those things I was going through was difficult, but it became almost second nature.- Clint

It’s a sickness and not a weakness and there is help.- Clint

I’m often asked if Vegas could work as a hockey market, and my answer is yes.- Clint

Vegas is a hockey market.- Clint

The people there weren’t there on casino ticket giveaways, they were there to see Hockey… The arena was alive.- Clint

Bob Strumm would be my front man right now… It’s a no brainer to have Strummer involved in a Vegas franchise.- Clint

The people in Quebec were huge hockey fans and it ended up being a great experience there.-Clint

I really think Vegas is a hockey town that needs to tapped by the NHL.- Clint

The thing with Quebec is, it’s a sure go there.-Clint

Quebec was a great environment, but with that being said, so was Vegas.-Clint

In Vegas we had great crowds and great fans.-Clint

They will support a team in Vegas.-Clint

Now, I’m not here to give the whole thing away, you will have to listen to the podcast for the other 25 minutes of our talk with Clint, but as you can see, the content comes across as amazing. Coming from someone with 35 years in and coaching pro hockey, and who played in Quebec and Las Vegas, his opinions on the Las Vegas fan base should speak to the question of “interest” or “support” in our city, quite powerfully.

Give the show a listen, lots of good stuff in there. If you like it, please hit the subscribe button, as there are lots more episodes to come! Thanks again to everyone who has reached out to the show with all the positive feedback, it’s been great speaking and tweeting with you all, keep those cards and letters coming, and if you tweet the show, and we might use your tweets in a future segment!!!

Mark and Tom

The Vegas Hockey Podcast @VegasHockeyPod