With so many sports podcasts out there today, one of the big keys to having a successful one is getting good guests.
With that in mind, former Canadiens forward Torrey Mitchell is off to a great start with his new Pre-Game Twirl podcast that kicked off this month and now has eight episodes online.
Mitchell’s guests so far include his former Canadiens teammate Brendan Gallagher and former San Jose Sharks teammates Jeremy Roenick and Jason Demers. This week, Mitchell landed a really big fish when he had Canadiens GM Kent Hughes on the podcast for almost 30 minutes ahead of this weekend’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas.
Mitchell’s relationship with Hughes goes back to when the Greenfield Park native was playing midget Triple-A hockey for Collège Charles-Lemoyne and Hughes recruited him as a player agent. Hughes was Mitchell’s agent throughout his 10-year NHL career, including four seasons with the Canadiens.
One of the things that separated Hughes from other agents for Mitchell and his parents was that he wasn’t pushing him to play in the QMJHL and was excited about the fact he wanted to take the university route. Mitchell would play three seasons at the University of Vermont and was selected by the Sharks in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL Draft.
“Well, he was honest,” Mitchell said during a phone interview Wednesday when asked what made Hughes a good agent. “And he’s super-competitive. He was so well-respected, just like he is now as the Habs GM. You knew he would go to bat for you.
“He just had a great vibe … a great recruiter,” Mitchell added. “Hopefully, he’s going to do that in free agency this year.”
This is a very busy week for Hughes, with the draft Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas, followed by the free-agent market opening on Monday. But the GM was willing to tape the podcast this Monday with Mitchell, who now lives in Vermont, and his friend and co-host Connor Wood. It’s the most laid-back interview Hughes has done since taking over as GM with him even dropping a couple of F-bombs.
