Brian Spencer grew up in remote Fort St. James, pushed toward the NHL by a hard working, hyper-intense sports dad who saw hockey as a path to opportunity. On the night of Brian’s first nationally televised NHL game, his father drove to a CBC station armed and took staff hostage after the Leafs game wasn’t aired, a standoff that ended with his father shot dead as Brian was being interviewed on Hockey Night in Canada.

Brian went on to play 10 NHL seasons, only see a tragic end of his own, proving once again that Canada’s relationship with hockey has always been… complicated.

0:00:00 – Cold open: Canadian hockey parents
0:00:44 – Kids, skating, and the cost of hockey
0:01:42 – Teaser: “Ended up in what can only be described as a heist”
0:02:10 – Comedy intro montage: “Canada is boring”
0:02:45 – Show intro & beefcake bit
0:03:41 – Transition to the hockey story
0:03:52 – Introducing Brian “Spinner” Spencer
0:05:00 – Sports parents and kids’ ambitions
0:05:11 – Jesse’s “Quack a Snack” childhood restaurant idea
0:07:31 – How parents decide what to support in their kids
0:07:46 – Brian’s playing style and the era of hockey goons
0:08:49 – Fighting and strategy in hockey
0:09:25 – Roy Spencer: tough dad with anger and alcohol issues
0:10:19 – Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs (1969)
0:10:47 – The dream: watching Brian’s first Hockey Night in Canada game
0:11:49 – Local station switches to the Canucks game
0:12:19 – Roy’s fury and the drive to the TV station
0:12:49 – Armed confrontation begins at CKPG
0:13:28 – Staff held at gunpoint in the newsroom
0:14:26 – “I’ve killed before”: threat and “revolution against the CBC”
0:15:19 – Ad break: Patreon promo
0:15:33 – Roy’s demands and the technical reality of TV feeds
0:17:22 – Pulling the plug: TV goes black for everyone
0:18:01 – Staff decide to cover their own hostage story
0:18:49 – RCMP standoff and Roy Spencer’s death
0:20:00 – Brian’s interview airs as the shootout happens
0:20:30 – Brian’s “mental toughness” and no counseling
0:21:04 – Funeral, telegram, and “Canada let him down”
0:21:36 – Questioning the “kind, warm-hearted” narrative
0:22:08 – Brian’s post‑NHL decline in Florida
0:23:27 – Murder charge, acquittal, and Brian’s death at 38
0:25:00 – How the story is usually told as “wacky” Canadian lore
0:26:01 – Wrapping up the story of Brian and Roy Spencer
0:26:33 – Six years of wild Canadian stories
0:27:06 – Entering the Small Talk Dimension (STD Zone)
0:27:39 – Jesse’s winter travel plans to Curaçao
0:28:28 – Venezuela tensions and flight cancellations
0:28:48 – Waiting for cheap tickets & travel risk
0:28:59 – Fake “Daily”‑style CIA/Maduro story riff
0:30:00 – Oil, Trump, and blatant imperialism rant
0:31:28 – Empires, theft, and Trump’s “AB testing” rhetoric
0:34:12 – “Don’t go near Venezuela” and travel debate
0:34:25 – Alternative: West Edmonton Mall joke
0:35:00 – Sign‑off and calls for listener messages
0:35:13 – Outro song: “Canada is so fucking boring”