Q&A by Kitt Amundson
Q&A
Q: How old were you when you learned to skate?
A: I think I was about five. I was put in the CanSkate program at home and I refused to skate all year long. I would make snow angels, and then I would want to come off to go to the bathroom, and then I would ask my dad to take me home. My dad said there was one day towards the end of the year where something flipped and I wanted to skate, and things took off from there. I started playing hockey when I was six.
Q: Did you have any idols growing up?
A: I think I would have to say Sidney Crosby was who I looked up to. He was a young player and he was excelling.
Q: Have you realized that you are his peer now?
A: Kind of. I think I realized it more last year when I got to play in an exhibition game playing against some guys that I had watched growing up. You are star struck a little bit, but then you have to figure out that you are doing pretty well and at the same level as them, and you are working for a job. It was really surreal.
Q: What is it like when you are asked for your autograph?
A: Someone asked me for my autograph the first time when I was sixteen, in my home town and that was kind of weird. But now it is pretty exciting. We are in a pretty fortunate spot as hockey players. It is a nice feeling.
Q: What motivates you?
A: I think that I want to be a better player every single day. I like to call myself a hard worker; someone who wants to get better every single day. I think my practice habits are working hard and learn something new and get better at something every single day.
Q: Who influenced you the most growing up?
A: I think it would be between my grandpa and my dad. My dad really pushed me as a kid, but grandpa always came to all the games. He watched me a ton, and sure taught me a lot. He was a huge part of why I wanted to be a hockey player. They both played hockey.
Q: What is the one thing, that no matter how much your friends would pay you on dare, that you just could not eat?
A: Oh-raw fish. I am not a sushi guy. I just started eating dynamite rolls like last week.
Q: You get to have a dinner party, and invite five people living or dead, who would you invite?
A: Michael Jordan, David Ortiz, Sidney Crosby, Blake Wheeler, and maybe, Will Ferrell.
Q: What is your goal for this year?
A: I think my biggest goal is just to come in and learn every single day. I am a young guy at twenty, and obviously I still have a chance to play junior but I want to learn lots and contribute as much as I can grow as a person and a player.
