The Game They Played

Bernie Corbett
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Hockey

Interviews with former NHL players, hosted by Bernie Corbett. We talk about the man in full: the early years, the playing career, and where he is today and what he's up to. It's the long conversation NHL players rarely get to have about their own lives. It's for hockey fans nationwide and worldwide who follow the NHL and its history. Bernie has hosted SiriusXM NHL Radio's Hockey On Campus for more than ten years. Episode 1 is Larry Robinson. He's a Hockey Hall of Famer with six Stanley Cups as a player, and he grew up on a dairy farm in Winchester, Ontario. Full episodes are on YouTube as video and in podcast apps as audio. New episodes arrive weekly. Follow the show and start with Episode 1.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Tony Granato: The Basement, Team USA, and Five Bonus Years

    Tony Granato is the oldest of the Granato kids from Downers Grove, Illinois, where the firemen flooded the ball field across the street and the basement games ran Tony and Cammi against Donnie and Robbie, with one rule for Cammi: don't tell mom. Bernie Corbett takes him from a kid in second or third grade wondering why nobody on the Blackhawks was American, through Northwood Prep on the 1980 Olympic ice, Wisconsin, Calgary in 1988, and a letter from the Rangers he assumed every player in the world got. Tony talks about the trade to Los Angeles that nobody could reach him for, the hotel roommate registered under a fake name who turned out to be Wayne Gretzky, the 1993 run to the Final, the brain surgery in 1996 and the five bonus years in San Jose that followed, the 1997 Masterton Trophy, a 20 dollar bet with Gretzky on an All-Star opening faceoff, why coaching is about relationships and not egos, going back to class at 52 to finish his degree, Cole Caufield, and how he wants the game to remember him. Chapters 0:00 Welcome to The Game They Played 1:05 Introducing Tony Granato 2:39 Downers Grove and the flooded ball field 4:59 A Blackhawks family 6:36 Basement games with Cammi 8:29 Don't tell mom 10:06 Why no Americans? 12:27 Juniors, naps and Northwood Prep 16:19 Skating on the 1980 Olympic ice 17:32 Wisconsin and Badger Bob 19:43 Hockey schools for vacations 21:18 Calgary 1988 and the Soviet dream team 24:32 The letter from the Rangers 27:29 Ready for the NHL at 23 29:10 Rookie year and Phil Esposito 30:59 1993 with the Kings 35:11 The stick measurement 37:37 Traded at the All-Star break 40:58 Rooming with Gretzky 44:10 What Wayne and Sidney model 46:43 The penalty minutes 49:41 The 1996 injury and the comeback 56:20 Five bonus years in San Jose 57:48 The $20 faceoff with Gretzky 58:58 Coaching: relationships over egos 1:02:35 Back to class at Wisconsin 1:06:18 Cole Caufield 1:09:32 College hockey's new landscape 1:12:39 2026 for American hockey 1:16:00 Health, and two years in remission 1:17:53 How he wants to be remembered 1:19:18 A Pearl Jam rain check Produced by Andy Bernstein. Show open by Stevie Potter. Hannah Connors on site. New episodes weekly, in video and audio. thegametheyplayed.com

  2. Oct 21

    John Vanbiesbrouck: Beezer, the Vezina Trophy, and the Year of the Rat

    John Vanbiesbrouck won the Vezina Trophy with the New York Rangers and was in goal when the Florida Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final. He played 882 NHL games over 20 seasons, with 374 wins and 40 shutouts. This is his full interview with host Bernie Corbett. John talks about growing up in Detroit with a bricklayer dad from Belgium, plaster masks with his brother Frank, and the forgotten jersey that got the other goalie drafted by mistake. Then come a farm team that folded in Tulsa, Herb Brooks poking him in the gut at 18, and a glass table that cut three tendons and a nerve. John calls his tandem with Mike Richter probably one of the best in Rangers history. In Florida's Year of the Rat, Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the dressing room, then scored twice. John called it a rat trick. He's now with USA Hockey, and most of the U.S. Olympic men's team came through its National Team Development Program. He and his wife have four sons and eight grandkids, who call him Pops. Chapters 0:00 Welcome to The Game They Played 0:49 Introducing John Vanbiesbrouck 2:04 Detroit, immigrant parents, and Gordie Howe 5:24 The Gordie Howe bridge 6:03 The Olympia and the old barns 7:02 Brother Frank, the masks, and Giacomin 9:46 Goaltending, least coached to most coached 10:44 Goalies and tough guys 13:34 Little Caesars and the lost jersey 15:58 A walk-on in Sault Ste. Marie 17:58 Drafted by the Rangers, Tulsa folds 21:53 Tennis balls in the parking lot 23:07 Lou Vairo and the 1984 Olympic team 24:42 Herb Brooks and the first call-up 27:52 The 1986 Vezina and the run to the conference final 30:32 The broken jaw and the glass table 33:33 Mike Richter and the Rangers tandem 36:07 Cleon walks in: both 1989 U.S. goalies 37:45 Why New York loves its goalies 38:51 Expansion: first pick of the Florida Panthers 40:57 Bobby Clarke, Bill Torrey, and building from cast-offs 44:24 1996, the Year of the Rat 47:12 Beating Boston, Philly, and Pittsburgh 48:13 Hockey in Florida now 50:10 Third in Conn Smythe voting, the golden era 52:43 Three sweaters at the end 54:26 USA Hockey: the ADM and the NTDP 57:37 The Olympics and the Four Nations 1:00:03 No such thing as a non-traditional market 1:01:52 Goalies in today's game 1:03:10 Pops: four sons, eight grandkids 1:04:25 Sign-off Hosted by Bernie Corbett. Executive producer: Andy Bernstein. Producer on site: Hannah Connors. thegametheyplayed.com

  3. Sep 26

    Larry Robinson: Big Bird, the Big Three, and Ten Stanley Cups

    The inaugural episode of The Game They Played. Bernie Corbett sits down with Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Robinson at the Legacy Club of Boston, across the street from TD Garden. Big Bird grew up milking cows on a dairy farm in Winchester, Ontario, went 20th overall in the 1971 draft behind Guy Lafleur, and became the backbone of the Canadiens dynasty: six Stanley Cups as a player, the 1978 Conn Smythe, a plus-730 career, and four more Cups as a coach and consultant in New Jersey and St. Louis. Ten in all. Larry talks about the hit that cracked the Forum boards, what made Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur different, Scotty Bowman's magic number, the night he fought Dave Schultz, leaving Montreal for Los Angeles, the garbage can kick that turned the 2000 Final, the 2019 Blues, thirty years of polo, Lane Hutson, and how he wants to be remembered. Chapters 0:00 Welcome to The Game They Played 1:03 Introducing Larry Robinson 4:36 The dairy farm in Winchester, Ontario 6:46 Farm work as weight training 10:27 Wanting to be a veterinarian 14:19 Kitchener and the move to defense 16:34 The 1971 draft and Al McNeil in Halifax 18:54 A Blackhawks fan in a Canadiens sweater 22:48 First NHL game and the Bob Nevin hit 26:26 A Stanley Cup as a rookie 28:33 The hit that cracked the Forum boards 32:24 The dynasty and the Big Three 34:28 Guy Lapointe and cherishing every day 35:25 Ken Dryden 38:15 Scotty Bowman's magic number 40:27 Guy Lafleur 42:14 Too Many Men, May 10, 1979 42:55 Officiating and a game of mistakes 46:24 The 1978 Conn Smythe and the Cheevers goal 48:52 Leaving Montreal for Los Angeles 52:20 The injury that ended his career 54:03 Lou Lamoriello and coaching in New Jersey 55:09 Winning the Cup as a head coach 56:55 The garbage can kick 59:24 2019 and the Blues' first Cup 1:04:02 The 1986 Cup and Patrick Roy 1:09:07 Remembering Claude Lemieux 1:10:24 Polo, hockey on horseback 1:15:00 The Adams Division and the Forum 1:19:55 Fighting Dave Schultz 1:25:15 Lane Hutson 1:28:29 Family 1:32:22 How he wants to be remembered Recorded at the Legacy Club of Boston. Produced by Andy Bernstein. Thanks to Cleon Daskalakis and the Legacy Club. New episodes weekly, in video and audio. thegametheyplayed.com

  • 3 Episodes

About

Interviews with former NHL players, hosted by Bernie Corbett. We talk about the man in full: the early years, the playing career, and where he is today and what he's up to. It's the long conversation NHL players rarely get to have about their own lives. It's for hockey fans nationwide and worldwide who follow the NHL and its history. Bernie has hosted SiriusXM NHL Radio's Hockey On Campus for more than ten years. Episode 1 is Larry Robinson. He's a Hockey Hall of Famer with six Stanley Cups as a player, and he grew up on a dairy farm in Winchester, Ontario. Full episodes are on YouTube as video and in podcast apps as audio. New episodes arrive weekly. Follow the show and start with Episode 1.

Information

  • Creator
    Bernie Corbett
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Game They Played
  • Show Website
    The Game They Played