>> Speaker A: All right, it's Thursday, and we're back here on chase and birdies.

And, you know what? It's major week right now

is kicking off the open championship. But we

had a little bit of a major championship under

place. I know we can't really. We're doing this.

>> Speaker B: Let's be honest. We're doing this on Sunday. We are

recording this on Sunday.

>> Speaker A: We're back early.

>> Speaker B: we're doing this a little early. And we

will provide everybody the details in a short little

video, probably early next week of the chase

and birdies two man at Nemecullen.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: Which was brought to you by Red Vanley. So let's just roll it into

that. make sure you go check out Redvanley at,

redvanley.com. best shorts. I think everybody

really loved the gifts.

>> Speaker A: Well, I can say this because even though I know we are doing

this before the tournament, I got to see the

pieces that they did for the tournament. And, man, they

knocked it out of the park with those quarter zips, dude.

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

>> Speaker A: red van, you guys are just kicking ass, man. And honestly, you guys did

it a little bit. You cut it close to the deadline a little

bit there, boys. It was a little sweaty, dicey, but you got it done.

>> Speaker B: You think I was worrying a little bit pep?

>> Speaker A: I, know it. I know it.

>> Speaker B: But they got it done. They turned out great. And

thank you again. and again, we will provide

everybody with the winners, some funny stories and why

Eric Tangier is not talking to me and all that

jazz.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, I saw today tango got removed from a chat. Put back in

the chat.

>> Speaker B: Removed just to show who daddy is.

>> Speaker A: But I tell you what, man, I gotta tell you, you have been working your tail off

on this tournament and, taking a blow a little bit with your

injury, anybody would probably feel defeated and not want

to be involved as much anymore. But, my man, you had stepped up to the

plate. I mean, I gotta get you something even nicer now for

Christmas.

>> Speaker B: I know. Well, it was. I love doing it.

And, yeah, I mean, the boot thing sucks, but, at least I

got approved to walk, which

there was a lot of content that we got to do and all that

jazz. So I'm excited. And I got a lot done

for this event, but I wouldn't have done it, probably, if I

was traveling still or playing member guests. So it was.

It all happened for a reason, boys. And hopefully everybody

enjoyed themselves.

>> Speaker A: Hey, let me ask you some relevant.

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

>> Speaker A: what do you think about Keegan Bradley on the, Ryder

cup.

>> Speaker B: Surprising, because I don't know. I mean, I feel like there's other people

that are older that could have done it, but I also

see why they picked him. He's going to be, He

can kind of, He's the same age as

a lot of those guys. I think that he might be able to resonate a little

bit more with them than somebody like a tiger woods or

a little bit older. so I don't mind it now that. The

more I think about it. and now the rumor buzzing

around that Michael Jordan might be the vice

captain.

>> Speaker A: I saw that. That. I mean, which,

again, that makes sense.

>> Speaker B: To why nothing's worked. No, they

have lost. I know it's in the United States, but they've

lost for the last 30 years in Europe. And

that's where I think Tiger is gonna be the captain next. In two

years.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, no, I would. I was. I'm with you. I was a

little surprised by it, but I don't. I don't dislike it. I

mean, I think it's fine. I think it's great, you know?

>> Speaker B: It's fine. Honestly. Like who? I hate to

say this, but the Ryder Cup, I don't feel like it

was what it was before back in the day.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, maybe. I don't know. But

it's exciting to watch. I think Keegan's gonna bring a lot of

excitement. And I do like that. He basically

said, I don't care what tour you're on.

>> Speaker A: Mm Yeah, yeah. And you gotta look at it that way. You can't have

any. Any type of nepotism,

towards one player because of where they're playing or whatnot.

So.

>> Speaker B: So you know what that means best. Our past guest,

Greg G boys and

Deshambeau. Probably going to be caddy and then the Ryder cup,

probably. So maybe. You know what?

Hey, bud. There's a couple inside the road passes where

media will follow you around a little bit.

>> Speaker A: We are media people, and, we're back today

with some media here on chasing birdies with our

guest Nate Thompson joining us.

And Nate had a really pretty,

illustrious career in the NHL. But

naturally, as I mentioned in the podcast, you know, you talk about

these guys retiring and their retirement age is like

35, and you have to stay relevant after

that. So we get into a lot of good talk with

Nate, especially with the creation of his

business, their concierge, 44, and other

things like that.

>> Speaker B: So in the golf event that they have coming up, the

NHL event, half moon, bay in

August with, ex NHL players, current NHL

players, and they're playing for some cash, kind of like we did this week,

so. Or you did? I did. Well,

I handed it out.

>> Speaker A: You handed it out?

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

>> Speaker A: And you counted it.

>> Speaker B: So I basically, I'm the tournament director, the tournament

chairman, the rolls official superintendent,

the bank, and the superintendent.

>> Speaker A: So, my man, I'm happy to see you getting

better here. And, you guys, thanks for tuning in today. We're going to turn this

over here now to Nate Thompson on

Jason birdies.

We're back this week on chasing birdies

with a 15 year former NHL

veteran Nate Thompson joining us here on chasing

birdies. My man, welcome to the show.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be on here

today.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, us too. I always tell pep that whenever

I make birdie on him, I'm like, welcome to the show, bud.

He's like, well, shit, I better three putt this one.

Oh, shoot.

>> Speaker B: Yeah. So, like, Ryan, mentioned 15 years in

NHL. That is a longstanding

career, over 800 games.

It's pretty damn cool. I mean, I'm

assuming that was your childhood dream and you got to live it out.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, it is. It's pretty special. And it hasn't

really, it sunk in more after I retired. I think when I was

playing, I didn't realize, you know, this was a pretty good

career. And to answer your question, when I was

like three or four years old, growing up

in Alaska, it's one of those sports that. It's kind of

the main thing up there. So when I remember growing up, when I was

three or four, I told my mom, I was like, yeah, I want to play in the

NHL someday. And she kind of, like, she kind of

laughed and smiled at me, but, you know, supportively

and said, okay, okay. You know, that's

great. Sure enough, I got to do it.

So, yeah, it's something pretty special. And I'm, you know,

I'm very proud of the career I had.

>> Speaker B: So did you go through the juniors? Did you get

drafted through like an OHL team or did

you?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, so I didn't get drafted, but I was. I

played in the western league. I played in Seattle for the Thunderbirds. I was

there for four years. I played there from the time I was

1617. And I played in my 20 year old season, too.

So,

>> Speaker B: That's crazy.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, I played major, major junior and then went from there.

>> Speaker A: You know what's crazy, though, is the fact that you're ahead, what,

39, 40, whatever. 39.

Just under 40.

>> Nate Thompson ```: 39.

>> Speaker A: Still not quite 39. And, I mean, it's like you

look back at, like you look at typical people coming up

the ranks, not athletes. You know, they're

39. They're starting to hit their prime with respect to their

career, whatnot, what have you. But, like, seeing

an athlete like you, for example, put in the

time, have a successful career,

and then not even 40 yet, and be

essentially retired. Now, granted, I understand you probably still need

to do things to keep your mind moving and stay relevant, which

you have and you continue to do. We'll get into that. But,

you know, that's kind of a, that's kind of a cool feeling, though, knowing that, hey, man, for

the last, you know, 2025 years,

I've been married to hockey. And then now it's kind

of been blessed, me with things to be able to do

now in the midpoint of my life, not even later

in life.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, it's interesting you bring that up, because last

night I was with some family, and I, have this book that

this company gave me that made over my course of my career

with articles and pictures. And as I

was going through it with some of my family members, it was one of those things where I was like,

oh, wow, this is kind of the first chapter of my

life, or, you know, going back 20 years.

It was. My uncle said to me, he said

hockey was everything. And I was like, well, yeah, it was all I was

doing. Now that it's

over, it's like. It's like another. A whole new beginning

of another. Another life, almost, right? And, going

through it and looking back and reflecting and thinking about all the things

and all the teams that I played for and the

coaches and the players and, I mean, everything, it's

just. It's pretty amazing. I

mean, I always forget, and I have to put in perspective

that, you know, what,

hockey, I don't even think it's, you know, the career I had,

it's. It was awesome. But, like, for me,

the people I got to meet over the years

and what hockey's given me from my career

is like, it's exponential and even bigger

than I know, right? So, yeah, it's pretty

awesome. And it's cool to be able to now look back on

it and now look ahead as, okay, now I got another part

of my life I gotta get to now, too.

>> Speaker B: So being a dad, doing things, kids

to practice, do this, do that. you just had

a little one, what was it, about a year ago?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, a little over a year ago. Her name is Wilder. Yeah.

>> Speaker B: So wilder. You're changing diaper. I mean, so you

probably feel good. There's probably times you're probably like, what?

Like it be back to hockey. Right. But at the same time,

it's cool for you.

>> Nate Thompson ```: It's great. I mean, it's a whole new life, a whole

new, way to look at things and to be a dad. It's awesome. To

be honest. I take pride in being a dad now. It's

so fun. and it is funny you say, too, that I

think back about four or five years ago when I was playing, and I did

not anticipate this right now, post

hockey, but, you know, that's life, and

I'm just rolling with it right now.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: You played for the La Kings, the

flyers, and a couple other teams. what

was the cups of

coffee here and there? what was

that whole thing like, getting to see so many parts of

the NHL and seeing how teams do different

things, within an organization, because there

are. Organizations operate

differently and some trainers are better than the others,

and some organizations give you everything. The chefs

and this, that and the other. And there are some that don't do shit.

So what was that like for you?

>> Nate Thompson ```: It was interesting and it was. It was a learning curve for me.

I know, getting traded many times, getting

picked up off waivers, playing for different

organizations, GM's owners. I mean, everyone operates differently.

And there were some cases where I was,

like, going from spoiled to maybe not so spoiled,

and it's just the way it is. but at

the same time, I think it really. It really

helped me. I think being

a suitcase, as you can say.

Right. being able to just kind of get

acclimated with a team right away. I mean, I got traded three

years in a row, so you kind of get.

I got almost in a little bit of a rhythm of knowing how to just

kind of slide into a team and just. All right, you kind of

have to mind your p's and Q's at first. Find the team

dynamics. See, who's the

jokester, see, you know, you kind of see, and you just kind of

slide in with that. With that group. But it's, It

definitely taught me a lot. I learned a lot. I saw different.

Different things, different coaches, different everything.

so I really look at it as I was. I was pretty lucky to be

able to play in so many different cities and different organizations well.

>> Speaker B: And again, some people see that as a. As

a negative that you played for so many teams, but in reality.

That's positive, too, because there's teams that wanted you.

>> Nate Thompson ```: That's the way I looked at it.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, sure.

>> Speaker B: So let me ask you, Nate, real quick. were you ever on long

term ir?

>> Nate Thompson ```: I was.

>> Speaker B: I'm on that right now.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Are you on the outside? Yeah.

>> Speaker B: Big injury. wiffle ball. I snapped my

fibula.

>> Speaker A: What? Yeah. Oh, Fuck.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I was. I was expecting like, like

wiffle ball. Like I pulled a hammy or something.

>> Speaker B: No, no, no. That would. I would have signed up for that in

a heartbeat. so, yeah,

I mean, being on long term ir in the golf world is

tough, man, watching everybody have fun. But

I've done everything that I can. Some things I've gone over,

you know, the red light therapy and the physical

therapy and acupuncture and all this

stuff that I don't think people really were talking about. And I talked to some other

buddies in NHL that said this is what our trainers would tell us to do.

So I feel like I'm in the show a little bit.

>> Speaker A: He does. Wait, listen. He does.

>> Nate Thompson ```: So how much longer you got on the ltir? And it's

obviously a lower body injury.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, lower body. we don't talk about wear in the

body. I, So today.

So it happened on May

24, and I had surgery on May

28. seven screws plate.

And I'm not weight bearing, but I'll

be weight bearing, I think, come July 8.

So.

>> Nate Thompson ```: So I.

So I have to ask. I'll ask a question here. So

what happened in wiffle ball where you broke

your.

>> Speaker B: I kept telling you

my fibula. And I kept telling

my son, I don't like that his little baseball team is playing wiffle,

ball after a game. And we were drinking, the parents drinking. I said, some reason to get

hurt. I'm not playing 11:00 at night,

guys. Amigos was rolling. I said, give me the bat.

So my son kept throwing it outside on the

ball, just kept being taken by the wind. So finally I said,

I'm going to step over the plate and just kind of

smack it. Well, my

foot was on the plate and it slid

off on the other side. Rolled. Body was going

opposite direction. I heard two cracks, and

down he went. And down I went.

>> Speaker A: Isn't that terrible?

>> Speaker B: But it's, Honestly, everything happens for a reason, you know? And

I firmly believe that because I travel for a

living and I've gotten to spend a lot more time

than ever with my kids lately. my wife's basically

taking care of two children and a toddler. And me.

And she's been a saint, but. And she's ready to like, kick the

crutches from under number.

>> Nate Thompson ```: There's a silver lining and everything, right?

>> Speaker B: Oh my God, dude. Like, just the small things, like getting a cup of

coffee. You're like, hey, can you bring this over for me?

He's just like, you don't

realize he.

>> Speaker A: Has taken commitment to recovery to a whole

new level, Nate. I mean, especially with respect to like,

talking to some of these guys about, you know, red

light therapy, acupuncture. I mean, show Nate

your cold tub. He's got to

get.

>> Speaker B: I haven't gotten in yet because the. The,

stairs steri strips on, they just

came off. So I'm gonna probably once after

July 8 and they tell me, hey, it looks good. I'll start

cold tubing it.

>> Speaker A: But why don't you show Nate the water bottle you've been

carrying? There it is. Look like he's on the bench.

This is how he fucking drinks now look at this thing. And it's just

easier.

>> Speaker B: It's got 32oz of water, boys.

>> Nate Thompson ```: He's got a special electrolytes in

there too.

>> Speaker B: I've been hammering.

>> Nate Thompson ```: So pep.

So let me ask you. So what's your target date to return

then? Do you have a target date?

>> Speaker B: I mean, honestly, I've been really good at not

amino acids. I've been really pumping.

that was another thing the NHL guys told me. Get aminos in

you. not setting a target date. I'm more or less

like this red light therapy and this acupuncture. If

it can get me ahead by even five days, that's golden

to me.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Well, I'd say even if you have a target date, you're probably going to beat

that with all the recovery stuff.

>> Speaker B: You'Re doing right now. It's expensive, right?

>> Speaker A: I mean.

>> Speaker B: I mean, to take care of yourself and change my diet and

do this.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah. it's. It's. It's an investment, that's for

sure.

>> Speaker B: I know.

>> Speaker A: Well, you're coming out better.

You're going to be the best shape. I mean, you might be

a better.

>> Nate Thompson ```: You might. You actually. Your goal. You might be a better golfer.

>> Speaker A: He might be. Yeah.

>> Speaker B: yeah. I mean, so it's just, you know, letting

my teammates down out there while they're all playing and everything, being

on long term. But it's. Hey, it's. It's the

risk you take being a.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Dad with football and an athlete. Yeah. for

sure.

>> Speaker B: Athlete.

>> Speaker A: Well, he's. You know, we have this chase and birdies event, you

know, here at Nemo colon, and he's like, I'm going

to play with a boot on. And we had Vinny on,

and he's like, you're not in a boot. You're not probably.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I think I saw a clip of that, too. I think I saw a video with a clip of you guys.

>> Speaker A: Yeah. There's no chance you're going to just walk around with the boot now,

mind you, I did see a guy out there, an old man playing in a

boot, but,

it's like, you want.

>> Speaker B: To risk that for, like, two days.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, I don't even think it's worth it.

>> Speaker A: Right?

>> Speaker B: No. So I'll just get hammered and smoke cigars.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you're just gonna be. You're gonna be more

angry when you try to hit it, and you just, like, shank with a boot

on.

>> Speaker A: You're gonna be like, all right, now.

>> Speaker B: So with.

With the career that you had, you obviously,

like you said, you kind of. You were moving around a lot of

different cities. Did that have a lot to do

with 40, four concierge,

which, you are an owner and partner in?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah. So when I was traded to

Anaheim from, Tampa, and Jamie and

I. Jamie Carroll and I. Who you're talking about,

44. just to go back, you know, we knew each

other from, when I played at Providence, because he played

at Providence college with a friend of mine from home.

and we just reconnected when I was in Anaheim, and he was

working with the concierge company at the time, and that fell

through. Came to me and said, do you want to start something?

And I said, absolutely. with the

idea of helping players, because I know from

my experience, and

I think at the time, I was still in my late twenties, early

thirties, and I had been in the league in a little while, and we

talked about just convenience for guys

and being able to

try and get things done during the season that are hard to get

done during the season when I. By yourself, or maybe

you have a family of kids and, you know, maybe you do get

traded, and you're like, okay, now what?

And I did deal with that a little bit early in my career, and it's hard.

So when I connected with Jamie and we

started this thing, it was to help players and

make convenience for guys the number one

thing. And since, then it's been

great. And I think guys are enjoying it. And

overall, it's been a pretty good plus for everybody.

>> Speaker A: Well, it's a need, it feels of,

fields a need. In other words, that happens

regularly. Someone gets traded on the whim, yada, yada. you want to turn

to a resource that you not only trust

but really kind of, they have brand equity or brand

awareness with respect to kind of what, what

they're doing as a business. So

I could see how that that would be a successful business

model. I mean, now are you just limited to

NHL?

>> Nate Thompson ```: No, no, we're not. And we've helped, we've helped guys in

different sports, but obviously we're more well

versed in the hockey world and more

contacts, which. But we're definitely, we've worked some

other athletes from different sports. we've worked with

MLB, with what we're going to be talking. Sure.

So, yeah, it's been great. It's been. And the

big thing, Jamie and I, and another part of our

bengal when we talked about this,

starting 44, was we wanted to be family

oriented and be able to help guys and really

kind of exclusive. But more times than

not, Jamie's not just talking to the players or whatever,

he's talking to the wives, the girlfriends, you know, he's

helping the families. And that's, that's the important

part because it's, it's not just the players that are affected, it's the

family members, wives, girlfriends, kids,

everybody. So that was really important.

>> Speaker B: And a lot of the time people don't realize that your family members are

actually more affected than you are because if you get traded, you're going into a

locker room and, you know, you're seeing these new

guys every single day and the wife, the girlfriend

are just kind of sitting there boxing up everything

and moving to a town that they don't know a single soul. And

so it's, it's very hard. And so that business model

is really cool. I know JT Miller has used you guys a

ton and, his wife and,

and just the ease of traveling, small

things that you don't think about that you're making easier for these

players.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I mean, I love that you touched on that pep. It's so, it's

so true is, to be honest, the

players and hockey guys, we have it kind of easy.

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Like you said, you know, we go into a locker room and we're already put into

a place with 20 other guys where you're

just, all right, you're friends with them. Automatic or your

teammate.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Another game for wives, girlfriends, whoever

it is, when, you know, when they show up, they don't know

anybody. They don't know. They're in a brand new city. They're not. You know,

it's. It's. It's a whole new world for them.

So to make them feel more comfortable

and maybe, you know, getting them acclimated

quicker can help that process.

>> Speaker B: Jamie's great. I mean, he's. Honestly, he's

incredible. I know he's helped a couple of my buddies

out that with some things and

he's responsive and, yeah,

he's awesome. So. And that's the thing that these

guys, they need help. I mean, people don't realize that

a lot of, and this is no knock towards NHL players or you

or a lot of those guys don't know where the hell

to start with things like this. Right?

And the fact that you can say to Jamie, hey, can you

charter them a plan to get their family from here to there

so that everything's taken care of or

a taxi or a driver. It's so easy. And

I see that you guys have sponsorships. There's some deals with

some companies, you know, Tumi and,

I think Red Valley and all kinds of other companies

that you have on there that they, get

benefits as well. because of you guys.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, no, absolutely. And to touch your point, too, I

mean, you're right about, you know,

guys. I mean, I'll be honest. I mean, you're in the

middle of a season and say you have a game the night

before or whatever it is, you have family in town and you got to plan

this for this trip after the season. I mean, that's a lot going on.

And trying to do your job is the

number one thing. And those things can

be distraction and it can be

stressful, too. And the last thing you need is stress during a season.

So on top of that with

helping guys with whatever it is,

whatever needs it is. We

have partnerships with brands, we have partnerships

with hotels and different, just all kinds

of different things that help guys also save money at the same

time. You know, we're not trying to have guys spend

and be lavish. You know, at the same time, we want guys to be able to get

deals and maybe get some

sponsorships or ads or whatever it is to help the

player. We're trying to help the player first and foremost and the family.

So, it's a win win, hopefully.

>> Speaker A: That's awesome.

So what, relative to the other sports, I

know you, you mentioned MLB, which we were going to

bring up at some point or encompassing that, but so,

like, what's the angle of attack with that? I mean, do you apply the same

thing because you don't know as many people maybe in those

worlds, or just. Is it just kind of networking within

your network?

>> Nate Thompson ```: I think it's just networking within the network. I mean, I think

you. The athlete world and the sports world

is pretty small. You know,

if you know this agent or you know this player and you're connected with this

guy or you played in this. That's kind of how. Yeah,

that's kind of how we build the relationships and gotten to know

other. Other people through different sports.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, that's. I mean, and that makes sense.

I'm always interested in someone's business, like, how

they do things.

>> Speaker B: Not personal business, bud.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Not personally.

>> Speaker A: No. Like, I don't care what deodorant you wear, bud. I don't even care

if you wear deodorant. But what I do care about is,

what you're doing to. To keep chasing

birdies in life, Mandy.

Now, did you have a podcast at some point?

>> Nate Thompson ```: No, I've never had a podcast myself. I just been on a lot of different

ones.

>> Speaker A: Yes, you could say. Yeah. And that's probably what I'm speaking of.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, yeah.

>> Speaker A: This podcast we got, I mean, it's been. I tell you what,

man, I gotta be honest.

>> Nate Thompson ```: By the way, the name is. The name is great.

>> Speaker B: Thank you.

>> Speaker A: Appreciate that. Yeah, it's been a

lot of fun. And, you know, Jonathan and

I both have full time job. Like, this

isn't paying the bills by any stretch. Yeah,

yeah, it is a bill. Let's just be honest.

It's a. It's a. It's. It goes.

>> Nate Thompson ```: But even if it's a bill, it's a fun bill.

>> Speaker A: It is, it is. But, yeah, it's just been really cool.

Just kind of connecting with. With guys like you

and other people that, Just good people, man.

That's all, you know?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, this is. This is. I mean, for me, I love doing this

stuff because at the end of the day, your podcasting really is going on to shoot the

shit and tell talk and, you know, tell stories and

have fun and. And like you said, I mean, this

is. This is a podcast. It's

not a. Ah, you're not trying to make a. Make a ton of money off podcasts. You're just trying

to have fun. So this is great.

>> Speaker A: So we are.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, exactly.

>> Speaker A: When you played for Philly, did you guys. Was

that when you guys had beef with the penguins? Like, you have any beef

stories with Pittsburgh?

>> Nate Thompson ```: When I was there, my two separate

occasions, see, I got traded there from

Montreal at the deadline, and that was right

before COVID So I was only there for a, quick minute, a

few weeks, and then paused and then went play to

play with Philly in the bubble. And then the next time

I was in Philly, I signed a free agent, but got hurt. And we weren't very

good that year. So I never really, I don't really have any really

good stories or rival stories against Pittsburgh

because we didn't play much when I was there the first time. And then the second time I was

there, we weren't very good. So I think they

probably beat us pretty, pretty handily every

time. But, I mean, there definitely is, I would say

Pittsburgh, especially the Rangers

also, whenever we're playing them, when I was playing for the

fires, especially in Philly, it was. You could feel,

a heightened, hate in the crowd, that's

for sure. And as you guys know,

Philly fans are a whole debris, dude, whole

new.

>> Speaker B: It's insane.

>> Speaker A: Where'd you guys come from?

>> Speaker B: Under the bridge?

>> Nate Thompson ```: You're right, they're on another level. But I, I

enjoyed it. I mean, it was.

I've experienced, like, Montreal fans and different

places, but Philly's just a little bit different. They're just

like, they don't care. Like, when I got

traded there, the, first time I played there, we,

I was in the midst. The team was in the midst

of on up. Like, I think we were like four or five game winning streak when

I got traded there and we were getting, we got up to like nine games.

And I remember we're in, we're in Philly.

We're, up two one against Buffalo. And

our power play is like, just having a little bit of trouble getting in their

zone and they're booing.

They're booing us. And I'm like, I'm, looking around

and I'm like, what the? I was like, are we on a nine game

heater right now? And we're up two one and they're booing us.

I'm like, these people are different.

It's like they expect they want you. And, it's

not just about the wins and lot,

wins and losses with them. they want, like, they want a hard

working team that is not afraid and will

bring it every night.

>> Speaker B: The broad street bully days, broad street bullies.

>> Nate Thompson ```: That's a Philly fan right there. But I loved it. I loved playing. There was a

great experience.

>> Speaker B: But that's the thing. You go to Montreal, where I think

in again, all due respect to Philly fans.

I don't think Philly fans all know exactly about the

game of hockey. They just want to see like,

yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I wouldn't say like Montreal or those other canadian cities.

Their hockey knowledge is not the same for

sure, but they,

they have a passion for, for their, all their sports

teams there. I think that's number one thing is they love all their

sports teams. number one, though, is the Eagles there.

Hands down, eagles won there.

>> Speaker A: Well, I enjoy watching hockey. That's how

Jonathan and I met on the ice back. It's kids, man. We played

ice hockey together growing up, but, we made it. It's

like the, the one thing about hockey, the

nostalgic factor to it, that I think things in other

sports realms or sports period, have, have

changed. Like the NFL certainly has

gotten softer with respect to hits and whatnot, what

have you, especially towards the quarterback, and rightfully

so. But the one thing that stays constant within

hockey is the fact that these fuckers can

fight. And that is awesome. Like, how

great is that? And then at the end of the day, the guys know, you know, there is

some entertainment value here, but, yeah, they're probably pissed off about

something, but the refs let them duke it out

and then they get on with life. And I think that is one of the

coolest things still about hockey in today's world.

Their ability to fight.

>> Speaker B: I'm m not.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I totally agree. I totally agree. I think that there,

there is a place for fighting in hockey and it has

to stay because take it out. If you take it out,

the game is going to completely change and I think

more guys will get hurt.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Because if you don't have fighting, you will. It

eliminates those dirty hits. It eliminates the cheap shots.

It eliminates guys running around in games

not knowing, not thinking. They have to be held accountable.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: When you have a guy in the lineup, like a guy like Ryan Reeves or

you look at the Rangers this year in Rempe, how much of that

changed the whole landscape of the league this year with

now we need to have a tough guy in our line.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like it's fallen off

until this year.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yes.

>> Speaker B: Actually, I feel like it's fallen off till Rempe became a part of

the show.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I was just gonna say Rempe really changed it this year. I think it added

that. It add the storylines. It added, you know, when he

was fighting every single game and it was like, okay, he's gonna fight this

heavyweight, now this heavyweight, now this heavyweight. And it

really brought back that

importance. And I think if you ask every

single top player in the league, if

you ask Conor McDavid, you asked Nate McKinnon. If you

asked Artemiy Paneran, if you ask

Vinnie Trochak, they're gonna say, we

want those guys in our lineup. We want those

guys on our team. Those guys, more than anything. You look

back at Wayne Gretzky and you asked, he's

gonna be like, I, want more story than my team. I want those

guys on my team. So there's a place. There's no man, no matter

what there is a place for in hockey. I don't care what anybody says.

It's part of the game, and it makes the game

better.

>> Speaker B: I mean, Marty McSorley, he. He had to protect

Gretzky, and then he came to Pittsburgh, and he had to protect

Lemieux. Those guys, if you looked at Gretzky.

>> Speaker A: Wrong, they were gonna kill their fighting.

>> Speaker B: And, that vibe of the game has changed dramatically,

which I do miss that because it was entertainment value.

Right? You remember, I don't know if you even saw it, but back

in the late eighties, I think

Robbie Brown scored on Ron Hextall, and Hextall went after

him with a stick, just chasing him around. And a

massive brawl broke out. And those are the kind of things that were

fun to watch, back in the old day hockey.

But I do think hockey got

away from it because of our modern day,

what we were living in and that. But I think it's back

because of this rempy. I mean, it's insane, dude. Pete, like you

said, every game I was watching games. Well,

obviously for Vince, but also, who's

remaking a fight today? And

it started before the game even started at, center

ice. They're talking and whatever. So it was

cool to watch that kind of get back into the game.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah. And even. Even, like, it's not even the fighting

part of it. It's the anticipation. When he's on the ice, you

have everyone chanting his name and people

watching. Who's he gonna run over this shift? Or who's

he gonna hit? Yeah, just having that,

it doesn't even have to be a stage fight. I mean, it doesn't even have to happen.

But having those guys in the lineup, it automatically changes

the game right away.

>> Speaker B: What about your, your golf game? How's that looking since you

retired?

>> Nate Thompson ```: It's been okay. It's up and down. As you guys know, golf

is a fickle, fickle game with your. With

your mentals.

>> Speaker A: Yeah. You just. I don't know, you

know? I know.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: You've played in some great cities, though, with

La and Anaheim. Golf great

cities.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I have. I've been lucky. I played some good courses.

now that I'm. I'm done

being a dad, obviously, you guys know, is what makes a little things harder to

golf frequently. but I still

love the game and I still get out as much as I can. My golf

game right now is probably not very tight. but it's,

it's okay.

>> Speaker A: Well, it's just, it's just. And you know what

the problem is? This. Here's the problem with golf. If you were playing

regularly, you would still say the same thing

100%. I could four or five days a week, and I'd be

like, something's just off. Like, I just don't get it.

>> Nate Thompson ```: it's, it's, it's like, I remember I shot my

lowest round playing like, it was like the second

time playing after the season I shot my lowest round. And then the

next, the next, next round, I

shot like almost 100. It was like, it didn't

even. It was like, how is this possible? You know, it's just. That's golf,

though.

>> Speaker B: And now that you have a certain love for

golf, you guys have started a pro athlete golf

tour, which I think is a genius idea to get these athletes

involved. I think the whole. You did one with baseball,

in Orlando in November,

and there's a lot of good baseball players and they're playing for money,

right?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yes. Yeah, they entered, they

entered the golf tournament. They all entered and

they had to put in money for it. So there was a purse,

I think there was a little over 20 guys and they

had a blast. they had a tournament. Guys were playing me. It

wasn't even guys, all guys with plus handicaps or low

handicaps. I mean, I think there was a guy there with like a 15

handicap and he wanted to go out there and have fun

and play with the fellas. And guys brought their

wives, girlfriends, buddies, good caddies,

forms, and it was a, it was a success and they had a great

time.

>> Speaker B: And so, fast forward to August. There is the

pro athlete golf tour at half Moon

Bay in California for

NHL players. And I understand

there's been a lot of big name commits so

far in the NHL Network might be involved.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Possibly. Possibly. Yeah. that's. That. There's a

chance there. and we do have some guys coming that are pretty

good sticks. and like you said,

it's half Moon Bay, Ritz Carlton, about 20

minutes from the San Francisco International Airport, it's, on two.

There are two golf courses right on the ocean. We're gonna have

three days. Tournament, welcoming

party, the, night before we start. it's gonna be.

It's gonna be a blast. Guys have a good time. We're gonna have a

side games every day so everyone can win some

money. Everyone can win. and at the end of the day, it's.

It's gonna be fun. Like, guys are gonna come here

and have a good time. It's. It's gonna be a golf trip.

>> Speaker A: Yes.

>> Nate Thompson ```: You're coming, but it's gonna be a golf trip.

And for current and former players, I mean, you have

guys that are retired, and

maybe they have some business going on or whatever they have

there away from hockey, you know, this is a chance for them to

get relevant again, and they can, you know, sell their business, or they

can talk about it, just basically tell the people

or whoever what they're doing now these days. And

also, for the current players, I mean, it's just fun to be able

to have that dynamic and play with a former

player, play with your, you know, play with a

teammate or whoever it is. But I think the thing I

wanted to stress and Jamie and I talked about this

and with this pro athlete golf tour, is making

sure guys don't think they have to be under a five handicap to

come to this, because you look

on, the match with TNT,

and I think of Tom Brady at the tee box, just

spraying his drives off the tee

box. And that, to me, is

more entertaining than seeing him hit it

straight down, you know, straight down the fairway every time.

So we encourage guys that are not good at golf to

come, basically, was what I was saying.

>> Speaker B: That's awesome. Well, I saw, James Wisniewski's playing.

>> Nate Thompson ```: He's playing.

>> Speaker B: He's playing in the. In the chase and dirt. Birdies two

man.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, he's a stick dude.

>> Speaker B: He's. And he is freaking hilarious.

>> Speaker A: He's hilarious.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, he is. He's a. He's a character.

>> Speaker B: Did you see the video of, I'll have to. I'll send

it to you on instagram if you haven't seen it. But Justin Thomas

was sitting front row, game seven.

Did you see this?

>> Nate Thompson ```: I saw.

I saw the. I saw the small clip of it.

>> Speaker B: Okay. So he said the guy was. He

was sitting next to is basically like, dude, hockey players are nuts. He's like, yeah.

He's like one of my best buddies. he met his wife

in Vegas. He took his teeth out and put him in her beer and she

drank it. Like that was the first time he ever met. And so

I sent that to Wiz and he responds back, he goes, buddy,

that's me. That's who he's talking

about. And he's like, I've never told you this story. I'm like, no,

dude, he's awesome.

>> Speaker A: He's got stories out the ass.

Is this something you're going to do annual? I mean, I know you might

have did one before prior, but is this something

you did?

>> Nate Thompson ```: The MLB one? We've done it. We're going to do the NHL one

and hopefully. Yeah, I mean, this, I don't, this isn't a plan to be a

one and done thing. We want this to be an every year thing. Maybe it's a

multiple times a year thing. We don't know. We'll see how this

first one goes. But I, more than anything, we want guys have

fun. We want guys have a good time and come out and

just enjoy themselves.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's what it's about. And

exactly, you know, because you could really, I mean, just

thinking about this, like you could really scale this thing

up. I mean, even if you did three or four year, you could

do one on the east coast, west coast, somewhere central.

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I truly believe that this thing is, I think sky's

the limit for this.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I think anybody that wants to I mean, you look

at, I think everyone wants to

watch golf and then more so they want to

watch some athletes.

>> Speaker A: Yes.

>> Nate Thompson ```: They want to see how, how they do. And I think people also, at the same

time they relate to,

they'll relate to an athlete, golfer

because sometimes they're not very good too. And people

want to see that. Okay. This guy's not good at. He may, he may be really good at

hockey or really good at baseball, but he sucks.

Yeah, right. People, people relate to that. They want to see that.

So I think, I think it'll just be fun and guys will,

guys will enjoy themselves and you know, have a good

time.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, no, I think it's a great idea.

You got red Van Lee on Pepe?

>> Speaker B: Yeah, I got red.

>> Speaker A: Look at him. He's can't golf, but he's in the golf outfit.

>> Speaker B: I get, hey, my daughter, my daughter said to me today, she goes, daddy, you

golfing today? I want to cry.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Thanks, honey.

>> Speaker B: Yeah. Four years old.

>> Speaker A: So what what do you like to do outside of what you do?

I mean, like what, what's something most people want to know about

Nate Thompson, if you were to tell something, if this was like a talent

show.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I think. I think one thing I saw about a year

ago, after I stopped playing, a little over a year ago, I started

doing, jiu jitsu.

>> Speaker A: Oh, shit.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: Sean Avery does that.

>> Speaker A: You and Shawn, it.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, I do know Sean. I've actually

gone to jiu jitsu with him a few times. Did we actually

connect? It's funny with funny story. We connected.

And I played against Sean, a

lot, obviously, but never really played with him. Didn't really know him

that well. And I, we connected at a

restaurant here in the valley. I saw. And we ended up talking for, like, an

hour next, you know, we're talking about jiu jitsu, and

a few months later, we're going to some classes together. And I don't go with them all

the time, but I've gone with them a few times. but, yeah,

to answer your question, I've been doing it now a little over a year

and got my blue belt recently. So here we

go, leveling up. I did a competition about

a month ago, too, and got a silver medal.

And so it was, ah, it's been a lot of fun. It's been, it's

a whole new world. It's one of the most

humbling experiences I've ever done in my life.

it's taught me a lot. It's kind of been life changing. I'm really

enjoying it.

>> Speaker B: That's awesome.

>> Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, people. I mean, that's, that

is one thing about even golf being humbling,

but, yeah, the wrestling aspect, jujitsu, all

that. Really. I mean, because it's all you like. You gotta, you gotta dig

in. You gotta dig in. And then you lean into life

and kind of apply it to life in certain

ways.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, it does. There's a lot of parallels with, you know, when

you have a same thing. When you have a guy on top of you

with his knee on your chest, applying pressure on you, and

you're extremely uncomfortable. You know,

you, it's one of those things you have to figure out.

You got to figure out how to get up. It's a, it's a problem right in front of you. You have

to deal with it head on. And that's the same thing in life, right? When, if

you have a problem, it's something really hard, and you don't know how to handle

it. You have to, you have to find a way. You have to find

a way somehow. And you can't quit. So there's a. There's a lot of

things I've learned from it, and it's been, like I said, an extremely humbling

experience, and one of the hardest things I've ever done. I mean, I've.

I went from, like, first class. I'll remember, forget. And

I kind of went in for, like, as a workout, and

I sat in my car for, like, 30 minutes after with my hair

everywhere, and I was just like, what just happened?

wax. I got my ass kicked for about an hour and

a half, and I was like, this is something I never expected experienced before.

So it was. It's been pretty great for me, I think,

especially post hockey.

>> Speaker B: That's awesome.

>> Speaker A: Well, if you want to enter a little bit of

an entertainment, you should listen to the Sean Avery

podcast here on Jason birdies a couple months back.

He was hilarious. And I will start off.

>> Nate Thompson ```: I didn't. I didn't realize he was on the.

>> Speaker A: Podcast, and he didn't want to.

Yeah, he was 30 minutes late. And when we came

into this screen that you're looking at now, he

said, hey, guys, I don't want to fucking be here right

now. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this fucking

podcast.

>> Speaker B: But we're like, he didn't even have to do it. Like, we

had nothing.

>> Speaker A: And then he was like, but let's go. Come on. And then he got. Then

he opened up and started talking about golf. He didn't know. He

really, you know, whatever. But,

he was glad he was on.

>> Nate Thompson ```: He was glad he was on, I'm.

>> Speaker A: Sure, too, once he got going.

Yeah.

>> Speaker B: I love that. He's like a kid with his little vape

pen necklace.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah. He said he looked like a teenager, too,

so. Yeah, yeah,

yeah. That's awesome.

>> Speaker A: Well, man, it was, good to, you know, hearing your

name, you know, time to time with Jamie and

Pep and what. What have you. It was. It was good to

finally connect with you, Nate, and have you on the show and,

you know, hopefully, at some point, we can link up in

person and maybe play some,

>> Nate Thompson ```: That would be great. I would love that. I appreciate you guys having me on, and this

is. This is great. I would. You guys. You guys want to shoot

the shit again? I'll come on again another time.

>> Speaker A: Well, we want to continue this real quickly here with our

tap in segment presented by Bentonardi

golf. Jonathan's going to ask you some questions,

which I'm sure he thought long and hard about these

questions. So let's see what he let's see what he's got.

>> Speaker B: Favorite NHL city that you played in

Tampa. I love it. Please.

Favorite, club in the bag.

>> Nate Thompson ```: 56 degree.

>> Speaker B: Oh, all right, this is a little deep.

Biggest regret in your. In your career?

>> Nate Thompson ```: Biggest regret in my career?

>> Nate Thompson ```: No regrets.

>> Speaker A: That's right.

>> Speaker B: Yeah. Love it. All right, you dodged that

one. And for the

record, there is NHL players that do

interviews.

>> Nate Thompson ```: You guys seen that tattoo with?

Just making sure the mic's on, you.

>> Speaker B: Know, NHL players give the best interviews.

So that.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: What are you chasing?

>> Nate Thompson ```: What am I chasing? My daughter

around.

>> Speaker A: That's a new one.

>> Speaker B: That's a good one. That's a new one.

>> Speaker A: That's a great one. Hey, you're

56 is what are you playing bogey

betting? Artie?

>> Nate Thompson ```: It's a titleist. Yeah.

>> Speaker A: So let me just tell you a story real quick. If you are making

or getting custom wedges, unless Aaron Dill is doing it

for you directly, you won't have an issue. But I was going

through my list of getting all my new sm ten s recently.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah.

>> Speaker A: And I was doing my customizations for stamping,

but I put on my 46 degree,

which is my pitching wedge. But I get a custom 46. I

put fuck a pin. But I put f u

asterisk k a pin. You know, it was cool. It's

black. It was in like orange writing. It was real

subtle, but it was kind of cool. So then,

you know, I'm stoked about it. And I get an email from

titleist that says, one or more of your wedges

does not pass our legal

qualifications for either trademark or

profanity. Please call us to,

whatever, fix the issue, whatever. So I called him and I

said, I said, it's the wedge with the f word on it. Huh?

And he's like, yeah, unfortunately we can't use profanity.

I said, well, I get it, bud. I said, just put my

initials on it then. I mean, what the hell? So now I'm gonna have

my wedge with my initials on it. But anyways, funny story. Maybe

not funny. Funny to me though.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah, that's a good story.

>> Speaker A: Can't say it.

>> Speaker B: Thank you so much again, Nate. And we'll,

stay tuned for the pro athlete

NHL portion of event. So we're really looking

forward to seeing 21st, 24th.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: And then they'll be going off to camp. So

yeah, and if they want.

>> Nate Thompson ```: To register, just go to pro athletegolftour.com and they can

register and it's all right there. And that's it.

easy peasy.

>> Speaker B: Perfect.

>> Speaker A: Get on it, guys. Get out there and sign up.

>> Speaker B: All right, Nate, thanks for daughter

on.

>> Nate Thompson ```: Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.

>> Speaker A: Oh, yeah.

>> Speaker B: Nate Thompson, that was a good and fun one. like you

said in the intro, he had a great career. He had a

long career. Played for a couple different teams,

as we mentioned, in that podcast, but

great dude. And he's got a lot going on. I mean, he's chasing little

ones around. He's got 44

m, he's got the golf event that he's helping with.

So my man's got his hands in a lot right now.

>> Speaker A: That's what happens. Life comes at you fast, man. And

he's doing a really good job managing that and still staying

relevant and doing what he's doing.

it's really cool, though. I mean, the golf tournament that he's speaking of,

I think there's something there. I think it could stick. You know, they want to try

to do some different events, coast to coast, whatnot. We're at

half, half moon Bay, like you said. I mean, so

it's good stuff, Nate. I love to see these,

these fellow ex athletes just kind

of married to the game of golf a little bit.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, absolutely.

And love, that he was going, to jiu jitsu,

right?

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

>> Speaker B: With x NHL player

and guests of chasing birdie. So listen, boys,

the guys out in the valley, they say, are

living life.

>> Speaker A: Living life in the valley. And sometimes in the valley,

especially in death Valley, it gets extremely hot, man. So

you got to escape to the mountains south of

Pittsburgh here in Farmington, Pennsylvania.

Nemo colon resort in Farmington is

world class five star. It'll keep you cool on

those hot days. It'll keep you warm on those cool fall nights. You make

it down here to Farmington. Check them out online.

Nemicolon.com. it's where we just had our chasing birdies

to, man. And it's where you should bring your

family. Excellent.

>> Speaker B: Yes. That was fantastic right there. And they put on a

hell of a show, which, again, we did this on Sunday,

but I know they're gonna put a hell of a show on for the event

that's happening. we had to do this before Thursday, so

we got it done and all that jazz. But, we're doing a cool

interview.

>> Speaker A: Mandy, next interview on chasing birdies. Why

don't you,

>> Speaker B: Yeah, it's, Gentry Humphrey.

So Gentry, 23 on instagram.

Check him out. I'm sure a lot of our

listeners have 2345

pairs of Jordan golf shoes.

>> Speaker A: Yep.

>> Speaker B: Gentry is now the vice president of

Jordan golf and before he did

this, he designed Jordansen or Michael

Jordan. So, we're really excited about this

one because, I mean, I'll be honest, I'll be the first. I've got a million pair

of Jordan golf shoes so this is exciting for me. I know bash got a

couple sprinkled in and, yeah, but

they, yeah, they're great.

>> Speaker A: They're actually comfortable. People look at them and think, you know, they're kind of

blocky and whatnot. No. The only thing that kind of

rubs me, I gotta wear a little higher sock on that back tag. But those lows

I got down at Grove 23

are awesome. It's a great pair of golf shoes.

Plus again, a little, little boost to the height. So,

next guest here on chasing birdies, Gentry Humphrey

will be joining us in two weeks and, that's

about all I got today, my man. What do you think?

>> Speaker B: That's about it. Make sure you go over to chase and underscore

birdies on Instagram. Like it, love

it, tap it. And, stay tuned for a lot

more content we'll be providing you guys, guys, was a tournament

update and recap next week?

>> Speaker A: Yeah, stay tuned to our social handles for that update.

But in the meantime, enjoy your

weekend. Tune into the open championship like I

said, which is kicking off today. It's going to be a good one.

And always appreciate you tuning in here on chasing

birdies. Thank you to evo Alley and Emily at

simpler media for putting this thing together. Jacqueline Deepaterio,

Rachel London, you girls really kicked ass. We

appreciate it. You all have a great, blessed weekend. We'll

catch you all in 2

hours.