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AIH 20416 Podcast Episode 15: Insider Tips on Travis Hamonic

Hello everyone! Recorded on December 17th and published just yesterday, we present to you Episode 15 of the AIH 20416 Podcast, featuring your regular hosts in addition to special guest @BigPapiPegCity of the AIH Superfans! Facing our triumvirate on the other side of the Skype connection was Dan Saraceni, co-managing editor of SB Nation's Lighthouse Hockey and co-host of the Islanders Anxiety podcast. Read and listen to both, respectively, for all things New York Islanders.

After rubbing his podcast's copious amount of iTunes reviews in our faces, we jumped straight into the topic Winnipeg Jets fans wanted to hear most: Travis Hamonic. Being much closer to the action than ourselves, it was fascinating to hear Dan's take on all things Hamonic, including his role on the Islanders' blueline and whether he's a top-two or top-four defenceman. From there flowed an in-depth conversation about the Isles, whether it was New York's window of opportunity, Josh Ho-Sang's incompatibility with the Jets, Nick Leddy's zone-entry goodness or the perception versus reality when it comes to Travis Hamonic. Dan also dropped the Dave Manson reference he's been waiting his whole life to make, while telling us of the outrage over Clark Gillies bobblehead night.

While there was a slight ongoing technical issue, we didn't let it slow us down: reveling in Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss, writing love letters to Matt Moulson, putting Kevin Cheveldayoff on the spectrum of General Managers, Garth Snow's biggest whiff and more. If the podcast felt at times like a Garth Snow lovefest, that's because it was, with the three Winnipeg Jets fans in the room fawning all over a GM who's active about asset management. Honestly, his ability to make lemonade out of lemons you didn't even know he had is remarkable (see: four 1st round selections in the last two drafts).

I asked one final contemporary question, and laughed maniacally as Dan struggled to say three nice things about Brian Strait. We then promptly moved in a more historical direction, during which I went silent due to my apparent lack of pre-1995 knowledge (what do you mean the Islanders aren't a 1990s expansion club?). Debating the "greatest" Islanders trade, swapping stories about commuting to Nassau Coliseum, retrospect being kind to Charles Wang and not making a dime in 43 years were just the beginning. Between being a fan in the post-dynasty Pat LaFontaine era, the underappreciated greatness of Mike Bossy and the Islanders dynasty as a whole, and the sad ballad of Bryan Berard, it was quite the stroll down Islanders memory lane.

Perhaps my favourite part of the entire podcast (aside from the Brian Strait question of course) was Dan needlessly apologizing for 'chewing our ears off'. Little does he know, as you do dear listeners, that we would happily pick his brain for hours more. And so come listen to what will hopefully be Part 1 of Dan Saraceni on the AIH 20416 Podcast!

1. Listen online here.

2. Visit our page on CyberEars.

3. Download the .mp3 file directly (right-click link, Save As…, etc etc).

4. Listen, subscribe and rate us on iTunes.

So tune in, let us know how we did in the Comments section below, and remember to send your questions, concerns, thoughts and haterade our way by tweeting @AIH20416 or e-mailing aih20416@gmail.com. Remember to follow Alan at @sliiiiip and myself at @PhilipAIver.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for listening!

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