Talking Hockey With Joe Thistel of XM Radio

This week TheNeilShow sits down with Joe Thistel, host of XM Radio’s “Faceoff” Show and Program Director of XM Satellite Radio “Home Ice” channel 204

TheNeilShow – What’s your take on the on going saga of Scott Niedermayer. Will he play or won’t he?

Joe Thistel – The Scott Niedermayer saga has gone from intrigue to annoyance. It’s
less a question of will he play or wont he play and more of a question of who will care by the time he decides. The Magic Johnson of the NHL.

TheNeilShow – Who will be the surprise team in the NHL this upcoming season?

Joe Thistel – Last year’s surprise will be this year’s surprise, the Philadelphia Flyers. They wont rise as dramatically as they fell, but finishing 30th was ridiculous. Going from last to a post-season spot, in my opinion, is a possibility.

TheNeilShow – Who is your all- time favorite guest on “Home Ice ” and why?

Joe Thistel – My favorite guest on “Home Ice” was probably Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. The sheer magnitude of the man along with his easy manner of story-telling was magical. Even Espo was awed.

TheNeilShow – New York Rangers went out and added some really good pieces this offseason. Like the past, they look really scary on paper and then just don’t mesh as a team. Will this year be different?

Joe Thistel – I think this year’s Rangers team will finally mesh as a unit – they have
all the pieces, but sometimes the puzzle still doesn’t come out complete. I like their leadership, their goaltending and their additions. And the fact that they had a pretty good playoff run bodes well. I like them a lot.

TheNeilShow – Your award for the most over rated NHL’er would go to?

Joe Thistel – I think the most over-rated player in the league is Darcy Tucker of the
Maple Leafs. Take him off the power-play and he’d be lucky to show you fourth line stats. He picks his spots when it comes to showing that much celebrated heart as well — usually at home and usually when he’s got back up.

TheNeilShow – What’s your opinion on the new RBK Edge jerseys? Do you have a favorite or a least favorite?

Joe Thistel – I love the new jerseys, sorry to all those nay-sayers who are comparing
it to the Cooperall years. Change isn’t always good, I’ll admit that. But these unis are flashy, colorful and still true to the heritage logos of the franchises. I think they put a lot of thought into it and it’s a nice upgrade.

TheNeilShow – Who is your pick for the team to come out of the West and East this year?

Joe Thistel – Right now, I see the Rangers and Sharks in the final.

(PS – assuming Scott Niedermeyer is on the sidelines waving a pennant and not on the
ice waving a hockey stick)

TheNeilShow – If the world was perfect and you got to put a expansion team in any Canadian city where would your team be?

Joe Thistel – If it all aligned, I would like to see a team back in Winnipeg. I love
the history of hockey in that city, from Bobby Hull to Dale Hawerchuk -from the WHA to the NHL. And the fans are true blue Canadian hockey junkies. They deserve it. Honorable mention to Quebec for the same reasons.

TheNeilShow – With Brent Sutter having all kinds of junior success. Do you think he will have the same results with the New Jersey Devils?

Joe Thistel – We’ve never seen Brent Sutter lose as a coach, so it’s difficult to imagine him dealing with that adversity. But it’s a different bench to control – these are hard-nosed pros, not awe-struck kids and the transition might be difficult. Having said that, we know the guy can coach. The horses might not be there in New Jersey, but the work ethic will be solid.

TheNeilShow – If you were NHL commissioner for the day. What would you do?

Joe Thistel – If I were Commissioner for a day, I would start every power play as a 4
on 3 situation. You want goal scoring – you got it.

TheNeilShow – Will Alexei Yashin ever come back to the NHL?

Joe Thistel – Alexei Yashin will only be back at an NHL game if he buys a ticket!

TheNeilShow – Give me your player to watch this season?

Joe Thistel – My player to keep an eye on this year is Ovechkin — it’s his turn
again. I see OV jumping out in a big hurry and never slowing down. The Rocket Richard Trophy is his for the taking. If he gets some help up front, to free up some ice, he’ll top the 60 goal mark. So keep you eye on OV — keep both eyes on OV, as a matter of fact.

TheNeilShow – I know some of your talent over there at XM Home Ice have some personal love for teams. Ron Rimer with the Leafs and Boomer with the Islanders, do you have a personal favorite?

Joe Thistel – my favorite team then is my favorite team now – The Chicago Black
Hawks. It begins and ends with two words – Bobby Hull.

TheNeilShow – Any changes coming to XM’S HOME ICE channel this season? I have heard that you might add some more channels for NHL play by play.

Joe Thistel – A couple of significant changes this year will be live coverage throughout the day – we will not have any Monday to Friday replay programming as we did last year; when we repeated the morning show. Plus every game in its entirety, right through the playoffs.

TheNeilShow – Who out of all the free agents this summer got over paid?

Joe Thistel – There are a few free agents that had me raising my eyebrow but the two
that jump out at me are Scott Gomez and Paul Kariya. Not because they can’t play the game, they can. In spades. But the sheer numbers, wow. It was a good time to come up for free agency, obviously.

TheNeilShow – Will this be Kiprusoff’s curtain call season in Calgary this season?

Joe Thistel – Kipper is in Calgary to stay. They’re too smart over there to let him
get away. Look for a long term contract extension long before he becomes available. If it doesn’t happen, shame on both of them.

TheNeilShow – The NHL experimented with starting the season over seas in the past and some players were vocal about it in a negative way saying it gave their teams a slow start. With the LA Kings and Anaheim opening this campaign in London, England, is this bad for teams in your eyes?

Joe Thistel – Starting the season in London doesn’t bother me and I applaud the
initiative. I wish it wasn’t LA/Anaheim though. That rivalry should be played at home – on California ice. I think fans of those teams are getting cheated a bit. Overseas, they don’t care which teams play, so the big rivalry set-up should have been avoided.

TheNeilShow – Do you like the instigator rule in the NHL? Why and why not?

Joe Thistel – Too much is made of the instigator rule in my opinion. Truthfully, I
still don’t see the problem. If I had a vote, I’d get rid of it but only because so many people dislike it. Give the people what they want. But me? I don’t lose any sleep over it – and trust me, I like a good scrap.

TheNeilShow – We here at nhldigest.com would like to thank you for sitting down with us. Can you tell the readers what you do and a little bit about XM’s Home ice channel 204?

Joe Thistel – I have the best job in the sports world, program director at NHL Home
Ice, XM’s 24 hour hockey channel. We deliver hockey talk right across North America each and every day, and I work with some of the best people in the business.

We’re all big fans as well as broadcasters and we’ve developed a tremendous relationship with the hockey world and our listeners. It’s very gratifying to hear what people say about our channel, and believe me, when my phone rings and it’s Denis Potvin on
the other line, it’s a great world we live in.

http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelpage.xmc?ch=home_ice

http://www.xmradio.ca/

Look for more from TheNeilShow throughout the season as he interviews various sports media members as well as coaches and players from around the NHL.
If you have any questions or comments, please share a comment on the site or email Neil at theneilshow@nhldigest.com.