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Canucks Central

Kevin Woodley: Canucks Need to be Trend-Setters

30 Apr 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What are the next steps for the Canucks?

16.282 - 36.265 Satyar Shah

Back in on Canuck Central, coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Keep getting your thoughts in to our Dunbar Lumber text inbox, 65650. It's Satyar Shah Biknazar. And this hour of the program is brought to you by your lower mainland Boston pizza. The playoffs are here and BP is ready. So skip the couch and catch every hit, every goal, every save, every playoff beard.

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36.245 - 47.847 Satyar Shah

This is how you watch playoff hockey. Let's go to the Able Auctions hotline and welcome in our guest. It is Kevin Woodley, Ingle Magazine and NHL.com. And as always, a presentation of White Rock Hyundai. What's happening, Woodley?

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48.869 - 51.073 Kevin Woodley

Not much. Have you grown a playoff beard this year or what?

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51.213 - 54.76 Satyar Shah

Yeah, I mean, I'm not sure I'm growing it, but my beard's always bearding.

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55.668 - 83.852 Satyar Shah

is it so like I'm you're like me right like it's pretty much Santa Claus if it gets going a little bit like a lot of gray a lot of gray a lot of gray it used to be I remember so a few years ago people would accuse me of doing what is it just for men because it was like this like perfect mix of like black and white and I was like no it's just natural and now it's like gone past that stage and it's just essentially going white you see how we tried throwing everyone off the sand be like oh what's it called just for men you gotta mix in a little bit of truth with a lie

Chapter 2: How can a new practice facility benefit the Canucks?

84.389 - 92.421 Kevin Woodley

Yeah, that's the whole key. That's the whole key. Well, listen, I'm with you. It's pretty much white at this point, so I think we're just going to skip it this year.

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93.002 - 104.659 Bik Niza

I've been calling sat Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting because he's got the flow going as well, and he's rocking the hat. He's kind of got that Boston vibes there.

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104.639 - 113.016 Kevin Woodley

That's a lot more flattering than when I grew out my hair during the pandemic, let the beard go full white, and then lost the tooth to a slap shot shortly after.

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113.036 - 115.521 Satyar Shah

Oh, I remember that photo, yeah.

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115.821 - 119.909 Kevin Woodley

My kids started calling me Meth Head Santa, so I didn't get a haircut at that point.

120.49 - 123.196 Satyar Shah

You could have been cast into Bad Santa.

123.917 - 126.883 Kevin Woodley

That's right. It was pretty bad.

127.336 - 137.029 Satyar Shah

That's funny. Great stuff, man. Obviously, it's been a bit of a difficult week here with what happened last night with John Garrett.

Chapter 3: What insights does Kevin Woodley share about playoff goalies?

137.049 - 148.365 Satyar Shah

I know we spent a lot of time on it yesterday as well, but you joining the show here with us today, I wanted to give you a chance to share your thoughts about Cheech and obviously what he meant to this market.

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148.767 - 165.234 Kevin Woodley

I think it's a mixture for me. Obviously, I was blessed enough to get to talk to him on a semi-regular basis at the rink and always look forward to those conversations. Not just not just obviously because of the person he was.

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165.274 - 184.35 Kevin Woodley

And I think the market got a sense of that through the interactions along with Shorty, both on the broadcast and with Murph, you know, the various social media adventures and their travels. And you got a sense of, of the person in that regard, but from the professional side, like always there for new people coming into the market.

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185.451 - 215.089 Kevin Woodley

And as a quote unquote goalie guy or somebody who was trying to learn the position, he was just, there was this blend of been there, done that experience that he shared in a self deprecating way, so much on the air. Um, and so openly and honestly, but there was a real knowledge there too, and a real passion for knowledge. Like he didn't just rely on the experiences from his playing days,

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215.373 - 220.319 Kevin Woodley

he actively sought to learn the new ways of the position, the modern ways.

220.359 - 241.206 Kevin Woodley

He talked to the goalie coaches on a regular basis about some of the things that this new next generation was trying to do, trying to improve, to understand everything right down to the biomechanics and push back when some of it felt a little too stiff, a little too technical, a little too disconnected from the things that made him so passionate about the position.

241.927 - 257.203 Kevin Woodley

And so to get to have some of those conversations over the years and just to sort of get to witness both of the fan side, watching the broadcast when they're on the road and then the interactions in person, when it was at the rink, I just feel blessed.

Chapter 4: How do the Vezina finalists compare this season?

257.223 - 286.115 Kevin Woodley

And I think everybody in this market should feel blessed to have had his voice attached to the Canucks for so long. And that's what makes it so hard is, I mean, my, my, my heart goes out to those who knew him so well, like Murph and, Greg Shannon and John Shorthouse and the whole crew who got to have him a part of their lives on a daily basis for decades.

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286.455 - 294.351 Kevin Woodley

But also to the fans who felt that connection so intimately, even if it was just for two hours a night.

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295.732 - 318.229 Satyar Shah

Yeah, absolutely. Well said there, Woodley. And obviously, anybody who worked in this market or has been part of the media has some story to share about Cheech, and every single one is very positive. So thank you for sharing that. And it's been a very difficult 24 hours. But it's like he himself said when he signed off with talking to John Shorthouse during his last...

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318.209 - 329.198 Satyar Shah

broadcast and cited Dr. Seuss. Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened. And that's kind of the perspective that we're taking here moving forward with Cheech. But I appreciate that insight on him.

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Chapter 5: What impact does the Canucks' management have on team performance?

329.347 - 351.253 Kevin Woodley

I've got a new goalie mask coming here from my friends over at Custom Cages, and we had to make one alteration today. It's a little Woody the Cowboy theme for me on this one, and there's some vintage masks that Woody is wearing throughout the artwork, and so we had to add one on the back plate with John Garrett's classic Vancouver Canucks mask, so I can't wait to get that in.

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351.233 - 370.187 Satyar Shah

That's fantastic. Can't wait to see that either when you put it together. Great stuff there, Woodley. In terms of the team moving forward here, there's been a lot of discussions about the GM candidates moving forward. And I know there was a lot of talk about some of the more experienced guys and it created some angst in the market, right? Because you heard names like Brad Traylor.

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370.167 - 397.12 Satyar Shah

living mark bergevin was kind of mentioned and and guys who have not had success in the past and then today we hear names like evan gold brett peterson and not to say that those guys are going to be hired but does it seem like they're at least talking to some of the people that people would get behind in terms of new age thinkers well first off i can only defer to other people's reporting because i don't have any but i mean yeah much as i said in the last week or so that um

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397.724 - 420.036 Kevin Woodley

I think we joked about multiple lists because I think that was the three lists that came out last week. But I'm fine with that. And we had this discussion a couple of weeks ago that, yeah, it probably should have been put together a little sooner given how long they were at the level they were at. But if they're here now and it's a diverse list, not only are you

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421.433 - 441.039 Kevin Woodley

expanding your options but you're hopefully getting opinions um you know but what needs to change here hopefully some new ideas right i've talked about this a lot like it's been a while since this was a franchise that tip to tail um was seen as a trendsetter in terms of you know, looking for new ways and better ways to do things.

Chapter 6: Are the Canucks considered trend-setters in the NHL?

441.139 - 464.232 Kevin Woodley

And so you get those types of ideas as part of these interviews. You know, the one part I'm not, I'm honestly not sure. Like, I don't know. I would hope you get this information, but I don't, I genuinely don't know if, if, if, if, you know, candidates come in and deliver the straight goods on how this, you know, organization is perceived around the league from top to bottom.

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464.65 - 483.601 Kevin Woodley

And I think that's an important part of whatever next steps look like is, you know, it's not just a matter of, hey, what can we improve? Like, what new ideas can we bring in? But are there things that, you know, where we have gone from being a trendsetter to well below industry standard?

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483.661 - 504.225 Kevin Woodley

And, you know, again, like when you're trying to get a job, rarely do you come in and rip apart the people that have been doing it ahead of you. But I hope as part of this process, there's a real honest assessment about some of the things they've fallen behind in to land up as far behind as they were as everyone else in the standings this year.

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505.842 - 525.096 Bik Niza

Yeah, when you look at everything as far as, like, okay, catching up at some point for this franchise, there's, like, the overall roster component to it. But, you know, to your point, like, is there more work to be done organizationally for all the stuff off ice or more work to be done on the ice for this group here?

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526.799 - 540.428 Kevin Woodley

I think it's both. You know, like... I don't know. I'd have to take a look at how many... We're talking about this with a couple of people at the year-end meetings with the media.

Chapter 7: What challenges do the Canucks face in the current season?

540.889 - 559.111 Kevin Woodley

And there were a couple of players who talked about working with a new or different skating coach. And they have a skills coach and they have a goalie coach. And part of you is like, hey... Some of the bigger franchises bring in skating experts during the season. Maybe Ryan Johnson already does to Abbotsford.

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559.131 - 577.888 Kevin Woodley

Maybe for the young guys coming in, they've got somebody that helps them with their stride. But where's that at the NHL level? I think when you heard some of the stories from players at year end about the way some of the injuries played out and ultimately led to surgeries, I think it's fair to ask some questions. Not about the people, but about the process.

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577.908 - 597.439 Kevin Woodley

This is an organization that's just a couple years removed from from hiring a golf chiropractor who had a relationship with ownership to run their entire medical department? Now, there's been changes since then, but are you just bringing in people that you know and trust, or are you leading the way? Are you finding new ways? And again, it's not a criticism of the people in place now.

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597.82 - 600.345 Kevin Woodley

I don't know that answer, but I think when you...

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Chapter 8: How does Kevin Woodley view the future of the Canucks?

601 - 617.878 Kevin Woodley

When you have some of the situations that have unfolded here, when you have people on the outside identifying movement, biomechanics trends that are going to lead to injury and ultimately do ahead of the people internally, I do think it's fair to ask questions about whether you're leaving every stone unturned.

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618.213 - 633.328 Kevin Woodley

overturned or not when it comes to getting answers to put you ahead as an organization, as a team. And the practice facility is easy and I've been banging that drum. I almost hesitate to do it because I was one of the first people to bang it and now it's so popular.

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633.348 - 649.564 Kevin Woodley

But that's one of those things that when you talk to players that come in here after leaving, nobody wants to say it when they come here at first, but after they leave, they'll admit to you coming back with another team that Yeah, like in some cases that totally shocked them. Signed, came, couldn't believe there wasn't one.

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649.584 - 672.628 Kevin Woodley

You know, like facilities for players, you want them to be here in the summer, right? There's some guys here that are going back home for the summer that I think, like I think Zee Booyam would absolutely benefit. from being a part of the Kaivo group that skates here in Vancouver with Celebrini and with Bedard and with all the local guys.

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673.028 - 690.306 Kevin Woodley

But if you don't have facilities and private ice for them to work on as Canucks, is that something they're willing to entertain? So it's things like that. They may have some of the answers to the questions I'm asking right now. And maybe some of the answers are excellent. And I'm wrong in asking some of them.

691.012 - 706.272 Kevin Woodley

but in talking to people and players around the league, it sure feel that look at the no sooner, no, no further than the athletic poll of agents, right? Like one of the quotes about why they ranked where they ranked was don't give their players all the tools required to succeed.

706.633 - 725.352 Kevin Woodley

And so I think if you're not asking those questions off the ice and on BIC, you know, you're, you're doing a disservice to your, to your chance. And it's, your chances of growth as an organization and of your young players of which you're going to be increasingly reliant. We've all heard about the scouts and what their contract status is.

725.412 - 742.719 Kevin Woodley

Um, you know, and then I don't have any more information on that, but I mean, in the past six months, I've heard from a couple of different sources, one internally, one around the league that they believe that that group, Maybe their contract's up. Again, I don't know other reporting, but they're one of, if not the lowest paid in the league.

743.18 - 752.845 Kevin Woodley

You're going to be leaning pretty heavily on that group to make some really big decisions as part of this rebuild. It's not just about making sure you have the best group in place. It's about how you treat them.

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