Pardon the Interruption

Wilbon: Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. Tony, a new study says it's the quality of your friendships that matter, not the quantity. So how would you rate our friendship?

Kornheiser: I'm Tony Kornheiser. You consider us friends?

Wilbon: Oh okay, it's like that.

Kornheiser:  Welcome to PTI boys and girls! In today's episode we take a look at the comings and goings of the FOHL. With the Rise of Skywalker a month away from hitting theaters, we look at the rise of the hockey stick wielding aquatic mammals, we put an end to the #1 overall pick debate, we chat with one of the league's premier General Managers and preview the epic clash between good and evil.

Rundown

Erie Otters

Wright/McTavish

Antonio Borrelli

Oshawa vs Ottawa

Sellers

Fortune Teller

But we begin today with everyone's favorite success story in Ontario, and for that, we head down to Pennsylvania.

Wilbon: I don't know why you call this a success story Tony. We're 18 games into the season, just over a quarter of the way through the season and this team has stumbled their way into second place. Plan the parade Tony!

Kornheiser: This is a team to be reckoned with, this is the team no one wants to face, this is a team that is going to make history and let me tell you why Wilbon. In all my years covering the FOHL, and I've been around since before the beginning, NEVER! has a team sold off their star player, the best player in the league, the best player the league might see for a decade, and actually improve.

Wilbon: So what Tony. They've beat up on some weak divisional rivals, they've got a rag tag team of nobodies that rely on All-Star netminding to carry them. When the competition ramps up, they are going to get smoked, crushed like the B team they are. Who is their leading scorers Tony?

Kornheiser: Alex Gritz. Christian Girhiny. Brendan Hoff-

Wilbon: WHO? Alex WHO? Exactly Tony. This team is riding a miracle run and they are going to break your heart Tony, and I don't want to be here when it happens. Enough of the Otters. Let's take a look at who they might be drafting in May when their season finally collapses. There was an article recently that suggested that even though Shane Wright is expected to receive exceptional status, he might not be the #1 overall pick in June.

Kornheiser: How many people have been granted exceptional status? John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Joseph Veleno and Sean Day? And only one of them hasn't gone first overall in the draft. I think we're both in agreement on this issue, you take the exceptional kid. It's right there in the title, EXCEPTIONAL. This kid is so special they had to make an exception to the rules to allow you to draft him. How do you not take him?

Wilbon: Well the argument here Tony, and it's a 6'1, 190lb rugged power forward argument is that Mason McTavish might be the better player out of the gate. He's got a pro shot at 16, plays like a man among boys, and has 40+ goal potential as a teenager. Personally I'm with you on this Tony, you take the exceptional kid, and Shane Wright sure is exceptional. But I've talked to scouts who aren't going to concede the draft until the season is over.

Kornheiser: Is there anyone we see pushing these two in the coming months, if we have the consensus #1 and #2, who joins the podium in May?

Wilbon: I'm not a fortune teller Tony. I'm not going to make that kind of prediction. I'm going to do what any sensible sports analyst does and wait for the draft experts to give out their rankings and then parrot what they say. Let's move on to an interview with one of our favorite GMs in the FOHL, Antonio Borrelli of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds. Welcome to the show Antonio.

Borelli: Thanks for having me.

Kornheiser: Normally we'd start with a lob ball question but you're one of the few GMs that has the ring to back it up, so I gotta start by asking about how your team is handling the inevitable downswing from champion to restarting the rebuilding process? Has everything we've seen this season been part of the process?

Borrelli: You never want to follow a championship with a losing season but we knew going into this season that we were losing our veterans and star players so we did our best to capitalize on some of our other talent in trades in order to try and kick start and speed up the rebuild process. We have some really good young players who gained valuable experience last season. Those guys are now going to be the leaders of this team and help build this team into a championship caliber team once again. 

Wilbon: Last year you were one of the teams that was a threat from day one, and managed to execute all season and capture the FOHL Championship. When you look around the league these days, do you see any teams following a similar plan. Who are the big threats out there in your eyes?

Borrelli:  North Bay in the East and Saginaw in the West. It really comes down to goaltending but I’d have to give the edge to a North Bay since they have some of my previous Hounds who know what it takes to win.

Kornheiser: Alright we'll allow that answer. You are a team that has been probably heavily scouting the upcoming draft class. We all know about Shane Wright. We all know about Mason McTavish. Is there anyone else your scouts have been telling you about, without tipping your hat.

Borrelli: Brandt Clarke. He’s a STUD defencemen. He still needs to learn how to use his body and oozes potential. Another guy would be obviously Brendan Othman with his elite scoring IQ. Ben Gaudreau too. He’s the real deal.

Wilbon: One of your players that was considered a core piece of the rebuild recently requested a trade out of town, and your head coach is rumored to be on the way out. Do you want to comment on any of the recent events up North?

Borrelli: We had some discussions but I’d like to leave that between Joe and myself. As you know we were able to find a good fit for him that I believe helped Sudbury and really helped us with our youth and veteran leadership. We'll let the rest of the speculation work itself out before we comment.

Wilbon: Well thanks so much for joining us Antonio, good luck this season and at the upcoming draft. We're going to take a quick break, and we'll be back with more PTI boys and girls.

Kornheiser: Welcome back. There have been several superfights in boxing we've enjoyed recently, some premiere matchups in the NBA and absolute battles on the gridiron, but the upcoming tilt between the Oshawa Generals and the Ottawa 67's on Friday night might be the headline of the year.

Wilbon: Relax Tony, it's a regular season game. That's all it is. 2 points are on the line for teams that have their sights set well ahead of a Friday night matchup in November. It might be a preview of what we'll see when the Eastern Conference Finals gets underway, but that's all it is.

Kornheiser: This is the Mayweather vs Pacquiao, the Ali vs Frazier, the Holyfield vs Tyson of the FOHL. Blood will be shed on Friday and you can bet I'll be tuned in.

Wilbon: Both Ottawa and Oshawa are two teams we can for sure say won't be sellers as the FOHL trade deadline slowly approaches, but there are some teams that definitely will be. Who do you see taking a step back and selling off veteran players Tony?

Kornheiser: I see a team like London, a team that took an honest run last season and came up short and who haven't been able to establish themselves in the upper echelon this season as a team that is going to see a few players. A guy like Evan Bouchard could net them some valuable draft capital.

Wilbon: I look at a team like Sarnia and wonder what they are doing. They're floating Tony! They need to get on the phone, sell off some of their older talent and really decide what they want to do in this league.

Wilbon: Alright it's that time of the show where our resident fortune teller looks into his crystal ball and let's us know the future of the FOHL. First up, who gets drafted 3rd overall behind Shane Wright and Mason McTavish?

Kornheiser: The crystal ball says....Benjamin Gaudreau. We know how valuable goaltending is, and having at least 4 years of an elite guy is too much to pass up.

Wilbon: And in the Import Draft, who goes #1?

Kornheiser: Oliver Suni. He's got a lot of upside and you get 2-3 years of duty out of him.

Wilbon: How many players hit the 50 goal mark this season in the FOHL?

Kornheiser: 0! Tye Felhaber and Nicholas Porco get close with 48 a piece.

Wilbon: Will we see any coaches fired before the season ends?

Kornheiser: Yes, the Peterborough Petes are sure to part ways with Rob Wilson, and the Soo will be shopping for a new coach in the Black Friday bargain bins.

Wilbon: Where does Jason Robertson end up?

Kornheiser: Saginaw. The West is theirs to take, the fans would be excited to hang that Western Conference Championship banner and they can take down the big two in the East.

Wilbon: Alright, you can take off that ridiculous hat now. On behalf of Tony Kornheiser, I'm Mike Wilbon, hope everyone enjoyed PTI, we'll be back tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.

Kornheiser: Goodnight Canada.