Ian Mendes On Leaving The Athletic & His First Year Working For The Ottawa Senators

The latest edition of our TCA Summer Sessions sees good friend of the show Ian Mendes return to the Tall Can Audio Studio to discuss his move from the media to working for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL.

Everything is on the table in this one including when the Sens first approached him about making the jump and any input he might have had on who would replace him on the beat. Talk of course later turns to some of the early challenges Ian faced including why many Senators' fans struggled to get the local broadcasts and calming the nerves and steadying the ship before another November got away from them. There's also discussion of the Quebec City/split jersey situation that fans were unhappy about and how the team took accountability. The season wrapped up with a playoff matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ian takes us inside what extra challenges that may have presented off the ice.

The conversation finishes up with Matt asking Ian the only question that matters - Is he happy?

This was a tremendous deep dive and we thank Ian for being as open and honest as he was throughout.

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