Up Close with Stephen Brunt

Victor Montagliani likes to talk about growing up tough in East Vancouver. A neighbourhood where street smarts got you farther than book smarts. It’s amazing how those skills and that attitude have come in handy in a world that couldn’t be farther removed from East Van - the lofty heights of international soccer. As the President of CONCACAF – the federation that oversees the sport in north america and the caribbean, an organization that was rife with corruption before he took over, and a Vice President of the FIFA Council – that’s who runs the global game, including the World Cup, Montagliani is the most important Canadian sports official since Dick Pound sat in the inner circle of the International Olympic Committee.Rising through the soccer ranks – which in Canada starts with volunteers organizing kids’ leagues, he has shown an aptitude for making deals and getting things done, both in front of and behind the scenes. Montagliani’s tenure has included turmoil and triumph, unprecedented success on the pitch and high drama off it.Soccer has never mattered more in Canada as the women’s national team – the drone spying scandal aside – remains one of the best in the sport. The men’s team returned to the World Cup in 2022, and now seems on the verge of even bigger breakthroughs. Canada has a men’s and women’s professional leagues for the first time in our history – the former funded through a controversial arrangement called Canadian Soccer Business (CSB). And next year, Canada will play co-host to the world cup – something unimaginable only a few years ago. You can connect the dots from just about all of that to Victor Montagliani, one way or another. Stephen sat down with Victor in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia at the beautiful Fairmont Pacific Rim. TIME STAMPS4:00 - Stephen welcomes Victor to the podcast4:42 - Victor's career track7:41 - Transition from the old Canada Soccer to the new Canada Soccer12:15 - Elected President of Canada Soccer (2012)15:23 - Changing the culture18:56 - Funding the professionalization of the game in Canada21:26 - Explaining the Canadian Soccer Business deal31:18 - Winning the 2026 World Cup bid35:07 - Comfort in World Football37:03 - Drone scandal40:48 - Hiring Jesse Marsch45:38 - The Gold Cup46:58 - World Cup 2026Audio Credits: Global News, KATL and Sportsnet.This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment.

On paper, Jim Rutherford's hockey journey started 60 years ago as a goaltender for the Aurora Tigers of the SJHL. Since then, Rutherford has carved out amazing career for himself winning the Jim Gregory Award as General Manager of the year in 2016, being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and winning Stanley Cups with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins.At age 76. Rutherford is facing what may well be the biggest challenge of his NHL life. Navigating the Vancouver Canucks through a period of turbulence that has included a player conflict that divided the dressing room and forced an uncomfortable trade, a Jack Adams-winning coach choosing to walk away from a contract extension, and questions about whether the team will be able to keep its best young player.In a hockey market known for its passion, volatility and cuthroat media, it has been a rough ride this season. A stark contrast to last year, when the Canucks were celebrated one of the NHL’s good news stories, pushing the oilers to seven games in the second round of the playoffs and the now departed Rick Tocchet was named coach of the year. Through it all, Rutherford has responded with his characteristic mix of calm, good humour - and especially - refreshing candour. In a world in which so many executives behave like they are protecting state secrets, he’s a relative open bookStephen sat down with Jim at the Presidents Club at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia to talk about his early years in hockey, transitioning from player to executive, working for three distinct owners, the challenges in Vancouver, and manages superstar players.TIME STAMPS2:30 - Playing for Eddie Bush4:30 - Transitioning to the front office after his playing career9:10 - What he learned during his first couple years on the job as a general managers12:15 - How goaltenders understand the game differently 12:45 - Managing up and managing down15:30 - After Carolina, what was the plan?16:50 - Taking the job in Pittsburgh 19:40 - Coaching a superstar (Crosby)24:50 - Leaving Pittsburgh 29:50 - Challenges in Vancouver 30:50 - Anything compare to what he has faced in Vancouver34:00 - What gets Jim up in the morning 36:13 - Working in a Canadian hockey market38:20 - When is the job done?Audio Credits: NBC Sports.This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment.

He's an American coaching the Canadian men's national soccer team and he's found the formula to winning. Jesse Marsch had a successful career on the pitch playing in Major League Soccer (MLS) after its formation following the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Soon after retiring, Marsch began a new chapter in his career off the pitch coaching international as well as domestically in MLS, Austrian Bundesliga, and the Premier League. After his departure from Leeds United, Marsch was a free agent not actively looking for work. But after a few calls with Kevin Blue (General Secretary and CEO) and Canada Soccer, he was appointed as head coach of the Canada men's national team in May 2024.Stephen had the opportunity to sit down with Marsch following a team practice in Toronto to discuss the success his squad saw at Copa America (2:45), risk in changing over the team (6:00), players accepting a new style of play (9:10), coaching Alphonso Davies (12:00), his perception of the job ahead of accepting the position (16:00), his mindset as he was between jobs (19:15), time coaching in Europe (22:00), his view of Canadian soccer culture (23:25), how he got the head coaching job with Canada (25:00), the current state of American soccer (26:15), and the ceiling for the Canadian men's soccer team (29:45).Audio Credits: CBC, CBS and One Soccer, This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment.

He might be one of the most powerful people in Canadian media. Keith Pelley started from humble beginnings and has climbed the media ladder achieving some of the greatest accomplishments in sports media. Keith now holds the title as the President & CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), one of the biggest sports ownership groups in North America.Stephen Brunt sat down with Keith in the Toronto Raptors dressing room to discuss his early days at TSN after graduating from Ryerson's Radio Television Arts (RTA) program (2:00), working as a TV producer in the USA for FOX (10:30), being hired by Rick Brace to oversee TSN (16:00), run the 2010 Winter Olympic consortium in Vancouver (16:40), hired as the president of Rogers Media following the Olympics (22:00), details around the Rogers 12-yr NHL media rights deal (23:10), moving to London to run the European Golf Tour (DP World Tour) (29:50), coming back home to take the top job at MLSE (37:00), and Bell selling their stake in MLSE to Rogers (43:40).Audio Credits: CBC, CBS, CTV, ESPN, Sportsnet Radio and TSN.This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment.

Welcome to Up Close with Stephen Brunt. This six episode series debuts December 17, 2024.This series is made possible with the support of GroupM Motion Entertainment.