Palo on air [1/2]

[jRuutu 2,483]

 

Good morning! You are listening to Vancouver Sports News, a show that talks about sports related to the Vancouver area. Today I have a special guest here with me, Finnish man and also a captain of the Vancouver Wolves, Rauno Palo!

 

Welcome Rauno, how's it going?
RP: Going well, thanks for having me.

 

Cool, cool - let's get into it, a lot of things going on in Vancouver, couple trades and even a retirement followed with a quik comeback, tell us your thoughts?
RP: Yea a lot of action, Gritty was traded to Davos, Martin moves the other way. Tough to see Gritty go, he has been with us for years, we won the cup together, but a change of scenery might push him forward and Martin is a talented player, so a good hockey trade for all parties I´d say.

 

And then two first-round picks was traded to Calgary for Diljodh Starload and 3rd/4th round picks, a day later he announced his retirement - did you see that coming?
RP: I did not, everybody in the team was excited to have a player like Starload in the team, 1000 TPE with multiple good years left, he has that two-way ability with hitting as well, perfect for multiple line combination for us, but for some reason, he retired right away. Says a lot about him when he looks the roster and thinks he cant produce? Young centers, young wingers, young goalie, and young defenders - what more you want? You could challenge for the cup every season for the rest of your career here.

 

Did you believe his explanations? What did you think about him unretiring?

RP: Not for a minute, guys welcomed him in with open arms, Beaviss is a great GM and the team is full of solid people who work really well together, so to pull a move like this? I don´t know man, we were not exactly thrilled to see these events. Great that he has decided to continue his career, good news for us obviously, but also for the league. This team has the potential to be one of the greatest.

 

What you think happens now?
RP: I don´t know, Starload has a lot of pressure on him, everybody wants to see him play. Up to him to show he can handle it, I think he can if he just keeps his head down and keeps on going. Not easy to join a new team in the middle of the season, takes time to find chemistry and of course learn the system and our way to play hockey.

 

Is Vancouver going to win the cup this season?
RP: Short answer is yes. We got too much talent in the roster, if and when Starload manages to get familiar with everything and finds a solid role in some line, I think there is no stopping Vancouver, the faster we can move on from these last couple days the better.

 

Thank you Rauno for the interview! Now a word from our sponsors...