Hello everyone. Bob McEvans of the Athletic here sitting down with defenseman Craig Finley of the Halifax Raiders of the SMJHL and in today's interview we'll be talking about Craigs performance in his first 12 games of the season as well as his stellar performance in the preseason and his expectations for him as well as the team moving forward. Without further ado lets welcome Craig to the set


Bob – Craig, welcome back to the set


Craig – Thanks for having me Bob. I see you made a few updates to your set here. Love the Raiders poster and the random bobble heads placed around, but I don't see mine anywhere. Whats up with that?


Bob – Yours will come. I happened to miss your bobble head night and yours has been hard to find with how much the fans like you.


Craig – well next time I come around ill bring one with me. Well stock this room right up for you.


Bob – I appreciate that. First off the preseason. You certainly helped your team out and it looked like your doing very well in your progression as a young defenseman in this league. Looking at the stat sheet it looks like you had 6 goals, 17 assists for a total of 23 points in 50 games played and a -3. That's not a bad line for a rookie defenseman such as yourself on a very young team. Looking back at the games how do you feel you played and how much of a confidence booster was it knowing not only that you can compete in this league but produce as well.


Craig – ya, well looking back before the preseason began I had to prove that I could play in this league and coach TDZ knew when he signed me to Halifax that I was lacking experience playing against true competition and I knew that if I wanted to play in the SMJHL that I would have to work my tail off and show that I'm willing to learn and improve. I wasn't aware of my play as far as points went. I was just focusing on my positioning and learning to be more of a defender than a puck mover on the back end. I know I can hold my own in the offensive zone but I struggled on the back end so I focused more time learning where to be and when to be there and I think as the preseason went on I was making big strides in my development. As far as my confidence goes, I know I can play and I wanted to show my coaches and teammates that I can hang with the best. I know that the preseason is just that, preseason, but it felt good to know that when i'm called upon that I can answer the call, and I'm hoping that my peers see that as well.


Bob – Well iv been covering this game a long time and from what I have seen out of you thus far is that you are learning and developing as well as a lot of people were hoping for, especially since you have no “real” tape on your play , no disrespect, so not many people knew what they got when you signed here. How have you gelled with your team and what is the atmosphere like inside the locker room?


Craig – I have the best teammates. We have a lot of fun on and off the ice. Practice is supposed to be hard and stressful especially for someone that just joined the league and is still learning the ropes and I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to help me learn and develop into the player I am as well as the player I want to be. The locker room is a fun place to be in. we always have a games of corn hole and ping pong going on to keep players hand-eye on par and we always have tournaments going. I was never into those games but i'm slowly coming around

Bob – Iv never been good at party games such as those but who would you say are the best at them?


Craig – well like I said I never liked them but the team was always playing them and it gets very heated at times. Iv always viewed myself as a fast learner as well as a strong competitor, and well your looking at the current weekly ping pong champion right here. Subtle brag I know but I just had to put that out there. With that being said tho, I just cant seem to beat King. Between you and me I think he cheats but I cant seem to figure out how but I have a feeling he rigs the games we play somehow. Its also always fun to see the Kovacs brothers play. That's a tourney all in itself. Battle of the brothers.


Bob – i'm glad that your having fun in the locker room and we'll have to get to the bottom of the rigging situation. With that being said tho, its always nice to keep your mind fresh and it sounds like you doing the right things to build chemistry with the team. Okay moving forward, the team has played 12 games if the current season and Halifax is currently in 3rd place overall with a record of 8 wins and 4 loses. For sure turning heads with the majority of writers having you guys near the bottom of the league with how young you guys are this year but your proving everyone wrong. Not a lot of runaway games but your winning close games with grit and heart. Your a young team as you probably hear me say a lot because well, lets face it looking at your roster you have more rookies than vets on the team. In your eyes did you see this team playing not only this well but bidding to be one of the better teams in the league?


Craig – Personally when I look at this league and how certain teams are built I knew we were in for a fight but id have to lie to you if I were to say I didn't see us playing at this level we have been playing recently. If you step foot in the locker room you can feel the confidence we have and even tho we are a young team there is certainly special when you combine a young fearless bunch of guys with the confidence we have, we become a dangerous team that not many people want to play. At the end of the day the team that plays 110% 100% of the time normally ends up winning the game and the coaches do a fantastic job motivating us to play our best and isn't scared to point out the areas were we can improve.


Bob – Looking at you specifically... you've been playing the second paring which speaks for itself in how much promise and accountability TDZ has in you and even tho the points haven't been coming your way like they were in the preseason, you have been doing a tremendous job shutting down opposing forwards and limiting scoring chances. How would you say you have been playing recently and how do you see yourself playing moving forward?


Craig – Points certainly are fun to see on the scoring sheet next to your name and it can be frustrating at times but at the end of the day if you do your job and play hard and smart the points will come. I would much rather see this team with the most wins in the league than myself leading the team, or league, in points, and when looking at what we've done with the first 12 games im happy with my production because were winning. That's all I can ask.


Bob – I cant argue with that. Were running out of time here but we have enough time for one more question... Word got out that there was a heated argument about a certain topping being placed on pizza. Care to explain?


Craig – I wouldn't say that it was a “heated” argument. Hell I wouldn't even say it was an argument but what you talking, and i'm assuming your talking about, is the whole “does pineapple belong on a pizza” debate. I'm here to tell you that anyone that goes out of their way to order pineapple on top of the pizza is wrong. If the certain topping is on a pizza and it happens to be placed in front of you than hey you have a free pizza in front of you eat it. But does pineapple belong on a pizza... the answer is no.


Bob – Well i'm happy that we have that settled. Personally I agree with you on that matter for what its worth. Craig thanks for your time. I know you are a busy guy and I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to speak with me. i'm happy to hear that your adjusting well to this league and i'm also happy to hear that you have a good relationship going with your teammates.


Craig – anytime bob, thanks for having me. Ill be sure to drop off that bobble head next time i'm in the area. Go Raiders.




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DRAFTED 30TH OA S43
S42 WJC GOLD MEDAL
JESTER AWARD FINALIST S45
S45 ALL ROOKIE TEAM
S50 IIHF GOLD MEDAL
S52 CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION

Good stuff man!

Good stuff man!

Gotta get ahead somehow

DRAFTED 30TH OA S43
S42 WJC GOLD MEDAL
JESTER AWARD FINALIST S45
S45 ALL ROOKIE TEAM
S50 IIHF GOLD MEDAL
S52 CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION

Cheers mate!