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EricNCSU · 02-05-2020, 01:22 PM

Charlotte Native Eric Hudson returns to Carolina for his first game as a Scarecrow

This is Joe Frazier with the Carolina Sports Network and we have an exclusive interview for you today. We sat down with Charlotte born prospect Eric Hudson after his most recent game at the Carolina Kraken, his first as a member of the SMJHL St. Louis Scarecrows. We wanted to talk with Eric about returning to Charlotte, but also just about his time in the league in general. Let's dive in.

JF: You're about halfway through the SMJHL season and you just played your first game back in Charlotte. Thanks for sitting down with us and tell us a little bit about what the experience was coming back to Charlotte.

EH: Thanks for having me, Joe. It's great to be back in Charlotte, my whole family was at the game last night. Got to see some people I haven't seen in a while. They put my line out as the starting line so they'd announce my name over the loud speaker. That was pretty special. Mix of cheers and boos, but I believe more cheers. That's what I'll tell myself.

JF: Is it personal for you to come back and play against the Kraken? Any hard feelings about not getting drafted by them?

EH: No, not at all. I'm not that kind of person. They took Jimmy Wagner in the first round, and I can't fault them for that. Then they took a Defenseman and a Goalie in the second round. Left Wing wasn't a huge team need for them. They didn't pick again until the 6th and by then I'd gone to St. Louis, so it all worked out in the end. It would have been awesome to play here for the home crowd but it's been awesome in St. Louis.

JF: So how are things going in the league for you, now that we're about 20 games into it?

EH: Well, the offensive stats haven't been coming along as well as I'd like, only 1 goal and 1 assist, but that'll come in time. I'm a -6 so that's disappointing. The main thing right now that I'm working on is my defensive positioning. Try to block more shots, maybe lay a few hits and get turnovers. I don't want to be a liability to the team and give up goals. Scoring is nice but defense is my focus.

JF: What's been the biggest adjustment so far for you in the league?

EH: The travel, for sure. And the number of games. It's a pretty condensed schedule [50 games over 81 days] and the travel is crazy. We had a stretch earlier where we were out in BC for a home and home with Kelowna.. played a game in BC, next night in St Louis, then went far Eastern Canada for two games against Halifax [Nova Scotia] and then Newfoundland. After that we had a home and home with Detroit so we left Newfoundland and went home for a night, out to Detroit and then back to St Louis. The home games don't feel like home games when you play a game and then immediately hit the road again. It's rough for sure. Heck, right after this we're hitting the road to Anchorage.

JF: Speaking of Anchorage, take us back a couple weeks ago to when you scored your first goal. How did that feel?

EH: Well of course that was amazing. Nice to finally get one. There was a good bit of puck luck involved in that one. I managed to steal the puck in the neutral zone, passed it to Yamamoto, he fired off a shot that deflected off the skate of a defenseman and came right to me. I didn't even have time to react I just flung it on net. The goalie was out of position because of the deflection and he reacted late and it went in.

Code:
Pass by Brooks Wayne intercepted by Eric Hudson in neutral zone. Pass to Yamamoto Mitsuharu in Anchorage Armada zone. Shot by Yamamoto Mitsuharu. Shot Blocked by Brooks Wayne. 

Free Puck Retrieved by Eric Hudson for St. Louis Scarecrows. Shot by Eric Hudson. Goal by Eric Hudson - Anchorage Armada : 3 - St. Louis Scarecrows : 6.

JF: How are things in St. Louis going for you? Both the city and the team?

EH: St. Louis is great. I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore but there's a lot of cool stuff there. It's about the same size as Charlotte, they have a baseball team, lots of cool restaurants. They took us up to the Expansion Arch during training camp, that was cool. The team is great, very tight locker room. Great leadership. It's been a very eye opening experience. We're near the top of the standings right now and everyone is committed to a deep playoff run this year.

JF: So, final question. Are you looking forward to the SHL draft? Have you given any thought to who you might want to draft you?

EH: Honestly I haven't thought much about it. Sure, it's there in the back of my head, but I haven't had time to dwell on it too much. With the condensed schedule and fighting for playoff position my focus is on the Scarecrows right now. It's going to be an interesting off season, that's for sure, but right now I just want to finish this season first, take things one at a time.

JF: Alright Eric, it's very nice to talk to you. Thanks for joining us. Go enjoy last night's win before you hit the road to Anchorage.

That wraps up our interview with Eric Hudson as he adjusts to life in the SMJHL. The Scarecrows have three more games this season against the Kraken, including two here in Charlotte. The series is tied 1-1 right now with each team scoring 5 goals, so these are two evenly matched teams.

[Approx 1000 words]

***sve7en*** · 02-05-2020, 01:36 PM

<3 <3

See you again soon, GGs.

**_Blitz_** · 02-05-2020, 05:33 PM

Great article, Eric. Glad to have you on the team.

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