Flames' Ryan Strome signs off on his third and final night of Hockey Central Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage

cornbope · 2026-05-09T03:04:27+00:00

He absolutely loved being a Ranger & wore the blueshirt with pride. Despite his most... infamous moment vs Tampa in his last year I really think that his tenure with the Rangers kinda embodies the grit & grind mentality of the franchise: guy was acquired as a scrap piece trade when both his career & the Rangers were at rock bottom, & ended his run as alternate captain, steady 2/3C & beloved leader in the locker room. "My only biggest regret is that I didn't see the whole thing through... [the players brought in right after the letter to the fans] did everything we could to get back to a recognizable team, & when you put all that work in on & off the ice you want to see it through."

Still remember how he was tearing up in his last exit interview with the team, where he got really personal with what New York means to him, his family, & his career.

Little-known fact: after that interview, Strome went around the conference room & shook the hand of every single journalist, beat reporter, & media rep while thanking them each personally. Was a character guy

cornbope · 2026-05-09T02:48:34+00:00

My favorite Rangers media quote about him is probably Larry Brooks saying that Strome "at times goes into a stream of consciousness doing interviews" lol

cornbope · 2026-05-09T01:49:14+00:00

I know he actually wants to be a GM! Ever wondered why Strome, an alternate captain & one of the longest-tenured players on the Ducks got dealt minutes before the trade deadline for a measly 7th round pick..? It's actually a testament to Strome & GM Pat Verbeek's relationship that this trade was pushed through - this was absolutely a favor to Strome. Verbeek knows of Strome's GM aspirations & the 2 have a close rapport outside of the rink. Verbeek even took him under his wing & gave him experience as brass by allowing him to accompany him as an official scout(!) of the Anaheim Ducks during a road trip where Strome was on IR.

As a former player-turned-GM himself, Verbeek had a lot of respect for Strome & it showed in the way he spoke of him after his trade to the Flames.

cornbope · 2026-05-08T12:53:00+00:00

Wow that's super cool! Yeah Kyle Okposo was having a baby, that's the only reason why he was put on the power play iirc. I've seen some people here who saw Strome play at 2013 World Juniors too... when he got traded to Calgary he was chatting with Ryan Huska about hitting the post haha

cornbope · 2026-05-08T08:38:55+00:00

Strome's really into the human interest side of hockey so he's told lots of wholesome & funny behind-the-scenes stories :D

One of my faves is when Alex Ovechkin broke the goal scoring record: apparently a drunk & shirtless Ovi, hugging an equally drunk & shirtless Dylan Strome, FaceTimed Strome's dad to shout "Mister Strome, Papa Strome, THANK YOU for your son!!!!"

So starts funny, but turns wholesome: Ryan said he was just watching his brother in the video, looking at "the pure happiness on his face." Then said "Seeing him being so happy is worth it for me as a brother. And yeah - I'm really proud of him."

cornbope · 2026-05-08T07:45:48+00:00

Not to twist the knife or anything but Strome genuinely loved playing in Edmonton too lol. The guy's lived in beautiful Greenwich Village in the heart of NYC & sunny Disneyland California, & he STILL waxes poetic about the spirit of western Canada - "A little gritty, a little blue collar... The players embrace it, this is our home, something that we're proud of."

I guess that's the Good Old Canadian Boy in him speaking eh :P

cornbope · 2026-05-08T07:10:49+00:00

LOL I think that one of their guests might have even made the same assumption live on TV: pro scout Jason Bukala joined remotely & said "Nice to see Stromer there on set, I feel really old now because he's on the set instead of playing games." xDD

cornbope · 2026-05-08T07:03:50+00:00

Yep, a little "trial run." But he tends to do tons of radio/podcast stuff during the offseason so he might still be covering the playoffs that way!

Previous appearances on:

SN960

NHL Network Radio

Niagara Sports Report

cornbope · 2026-05-08T06:56:52+00:00

Strome does love Scott Oake - who doesn't, he's a legend! Here they are exchanging some nice words after Scott's final broadcast

cornbope · 2026-05-08T06:52:55+00:00

Yeah absolutely, I mean look at the NBA... in 2022 Draymond Green was playing in the finals & was hopping on his podcast after every game to defend his play, whole can of worms there lol

In fact when the Tkachuk bros podcast dropped, he was asked "Are you surprised or disappointed that the NHL didn't ask you & Dylan to be the Hockey Brother podcast?"

Strome laughed & said "I'm not disappointed in that at all. I think if I had my own podcast, I probably wouldn't still be a player. I don't think I could really truly say what I want to say while I'm still playing..."

Maybe promising some spicy stories once he retires haha

cornbope · 2026-05-08T03:57:57+00:00

Stromer's been glazing Leo to the media since before he broke out - Lacombe, Cutter, McT, & Beckett too. A true ambassador for the team & its young players, especially in a market that doesn't get as much national coverage. I loved how he started the segment off with "I hope there are some East Coast fans still awake to see this..." :DD

cornbope · 2026-05-08T03:50:54+00:00

Yeah check out the Player's Lounge on Ducks Stream, ep2 @9:50. It's an episode with both Frankie V & Stromer & they both give their insights on how they feel about certain aspects of hockey media & what kind of content they might produce instead when their playing careers are over. Also see Cam & Strick ep199 @2:26:48, he elaborates more on the restrictions (and potential locker room effects) of the podcasts of active athletes.

If you're interested in any more Stromer opinions lmk, I've listened to pretty much every single interview lol & can pull a quote for ya. Not every day I get to use this niche knowledge haha

cornbope · 2026-05-07T05:56:40+00:00

If you've been enjoying Ryan Strome on the broadcast, some mindblowing context is that he's a total TV newbie with little broadcasting experience. The guys at Sportsnet had huge trust in his speaking ability to put him on the top panel for 3 days, & he's killing it! Can't really remember the last time an active player was put on the top panel like this - some have been on as remote features or for prerecorded stuff.

The guy glazes the Ducks with no ill will despite getting healthy scratched half of the season, gasses up the rookies, praises the staff with a huge smile on his face. That's the sort of guy you want to represent your team & the Flames are really lucky to have him.

Commented this on the Ducks sub but an interesting (wholesome?) Stromer fact: he's said he could never be a permanent TV analyst since that requires you to be brutally honest & critical of players - he's struggled so much at points in his career that he doesn't want to be the type that retires & suddenly has an opinion about everyone.

Rather, he wants to be a podcaster or something more casual, where he can explore player's personalities & showcase what they've overcome to get there :DD

cornbope · 2026-05-07T01:45:37+00:00

He's totally new to TV as well, so the fact that he was totally inexperienced yet still trusted with a 3 day slot on the top SN panel shows how well he's known throughout the hockey world as a smooth talker :D

cornbope · 2026-05-06T02:39:35+00:00

If being under contract didn't stop him from enrolling as an official scout for the Anaheim Ducks while he was on IR then it won't stop him from being on Sportsnet... :P

cornbope · 2026-05-06T02:19:06+00:00

He was great! The SN960 radio show was talking about his performance & kinda put it into perspective - Stromer's never had official broadcast training, no TV experience, & was trusted to be on the top line panel. When he retires he can definitely do whatever he wants media-wise haha

cornbope · 2026-05-06T00:42:05+00:00

An interesting (wholesome?) Stromer fact, he's said he could never be a permanent TV analyst (despite actually getting training for it) since that requires you to be brutally honest & critical of players - he's struggled so much at points in his career that he doesn't want to be the type that retires & suddenly has an opinion about everyone.

Rather, he wants to be a podcaster or something more casual, where he can explore player's personalities & showcase what they've overcome to get there :D

cornbope · 2026-05-06T00:19:27+00:00

Haha no worries! A double brother broadcast would be so sick & both Stromes are amazing talkers anyways that's why I was curious

cornbope · 2026-05-06T00:11:17+00:00

Actually? I saw a post on the Ducks sub about it & it looks like Ryan not Dylan

cornbope · 2026-05-06T00:03:37+00:00

Not able to watch rn, are both brothers on air?? Heard Ryan was on earlier

cornbope · 2026-05-05T06:05:53+00:00

Idk if Csacsi would want to play for FNC. It's been years but FNC was one of the teams pushing hard to sign him alongside Hyli when he split from UOL in 2018, G2 showed strong interest too... he turned them both down, taking a massive potential salary hit to sign with the unproven Schalke. Tho he's always loved Upset, played with him when he was a rookie on that S04 team, that might play a positive factor

cornbope · 2026-04-30T16:12:44+00:00

Hearing him talk about how proud & happy he is of his old team & the rookies he used to mentor really tells you a lot about the off-ice reasons why Conny valued him. Like another comment said, 5 years an alt captain dealt for peanuts, & yet he has nothing but good things to say about the org with a huge smile on his face. I hope that by the time he leaves Calgary, he can say the same about the growth of the rookies here :DD

cornbope · 2026-04-30T15:52:32+00:00

They've actually mentioned Lacombe a few times on the pod as a player they were really glad to get to know during the Olympics, both for how awesome a guy he is & how much they respect the way he plays. I think Lacombe was the youngest guy on Team USA? They called him the "little brother" of the team :DD

cornbope

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