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Survey Says: Which Penguins player could give a TED Talk?
One of our subscribers Ron Vassel suggested asking Penguins players which teammate could give a TED Talk for a Survey Says question this season, and I thought it was a good idea -- it'd be some good insight into what unique subjects players like talking about in the room.
For those not familiar, TED Talks are conferences that can also be watched online in which an expert gives a talk. The subjects are pretty wide-ranging, covering topics related to science, technology, culture, politics and more.
We got a little bit of insight into what fields Penguins players like to talk about with their teammates ... but as you'll see, this turned into something pretty different, and just about everyone had the same idea.
Ryan Graves: “Oh my God, you could give Kevin Hayes any topic in the world and he could do it. Whatever the topic is, he’d do it.”
Joona Koppanen: “I’d say Hayes. He could talk about anything. I don’t know what specific, maybe sports? When you walk in a room, he’s always talking about something.”
Stuart Skinner: “I’ll say Parker Wotherspoon, he’d talk about golf.”
Noel Acciari: “Sid is pretty worldly. But I mean, Hayes, he could talk about anything and you’d believe him. Cliffy’s not a bad one, he sneaky might know some stuff.”
Ville Koivunen: “I’d give it to Hayes, on anything. He could talk about anything.”
Rutger McGroarty: “The obvious answer is Hayes. (Koivunen: Me!”) OK, I would say Ville, on Finnish candy.”
Phil Tomasino: “Oh my gosh, Kevin Hayes would be good about anything. He could talk about anything if you would listen. Not even anything in particular, because he could have five topics.”
Ben Kindel: “Tanger. He just likes to give his opinions, and he has very strong opinions on everything. I’ve heard him talk a lot about watches, maybe that.”
Connor Clifton: “It would be Hayesy. He would just story tell, not about a specific thing. He’d have the room locked in.”
Danton Heinen: “I was going to say Gravy, but I don’t know if it’s TED Talk-worthy. He’s pretty into coffee. I was going to say Hayes but it would be like a comedy show.”
Sam Poulin: “St. Ivany. He’s a smart guy, he would pick it up.”
Jack St. Ivany: “Kevin Hayes would be really good, he’s just a good public speaker. But I would say Parker Wotherspoon and the TV shows he loves, like Game of Thrones. He’s a big Game of Thrones nut. Every time he talks to me he brings that up.”
Kris Letang: “Hayesy, just to talk.”
Brett Kulak: “I’ll say Letang, and he’d talk about coffee.”
Justin Brazeau: “Speaking in front of a room, I’d probably have to go with Hayesy. He’s the most comfortable. I don’t know what he would talk about, but I feel like he’d be the best at delivering whatever he was trying to talk about.”
Blake Lizotte: “Probably Karl, on how to get away with doing the least amount of work with everything you do (laughs).”
Parker Wotherspoon: “Hayesy, for sure. He could talk to you about gambling. He’s just so smooth. If anyone’s going to be on TV, it’s him.”
Erik Karlsson: “Kevin Hayes, and the topic he would talk about would be how to be a beauty.”
Bryan Rust: “I think Hayes could do it, it’d be all about positivity and looking at the brighter side of things.”
Tristan Jarry: “Tanger, on anything. He could argue with anyone.”
Connor Dewar: “Matt Dumba has four dogs, I feel like his daily life is a Nat Geo show, a guy infiltrates a pack of wolves. He tells me stories about pack mentality.”
Matt Dumba: “Connor Dewar, on how to get away with murder.”
Ryan Shea: “The easy answer is Hayes, because he talks so much that he would be good about it. I don’t know what he would talk about, he could talk for days. Dumba would be good but I don’t know what he’d talk about. Probably Hayesy.”
Arturs Silovs: “I think a great example would probably be Sid, just like a leadership course, you know? How to bring the team together, how to be the old guy and show the younger guys the path. He’s a great example.”
Rickard Rakell: “Well, I think Tanger and Karl. I know they’d be good at it because they’re never wrong about anything. I’m sure that they could prove a point.”
Tommy Novak: “Maybe Kindel on soccer. Or Hayes, but I don’t know what he’d say.”
Anthony Mantha: “I would assume either Letang or Crosby could go up there and talk about their 20-year career, that’d be pretty interesting. A sold-out crowd.”
Harrison Brunicke: “Good question. I think Hayesy would be good at it but I don’t even know what the topic would be on. Something about being in the league from a young age, that would be cool.”
Sergei Murashov: “I think Kevin Hayes can do that. He could start with a good joke, get attention to himself, and then talk with a smart face about good things. He can speak from our team.”
Sidney Crosby: “I think it would be Hayesy. Or Tanger because of what he's been through, like he's been through some pretty crazy adversity. And I think Hayesy, just because he's an unbelievable storyteller, he's funny, he can grab an audience. And I think between playing in college, and playing on different teams, his connection with so many people in the league, I think it would be a really interesting TED Talk.”
Kevin Hayes: “Sid, on how to be successful.”
-- From Taylor Haase in St. Louis
