Dear Edmontonians and all Edmonton Blizzard supporters and fans, we continue our road down the Team Edmonton Lane and next area is of no one elses than our beloved centre-man – Teodors Cukurs. Blizzard Magazine decided to meet up with Teo and speak with him about how it is to play for Blizzard, what’s the difference between not only this team and other teams he has played for, but also the cities as well. We were really interested how is it to live that far away from his home and has he already accepted Edmonton as his second home as he alraedy have signed several home discount contracts. Without further ado here is our conversation.

We met at a local café/pub in a really chill and relaxed athmosphere to enjoy the time and make the interview more like a friend talking to a friend instead of a player talking to a player.

Morning Teo, good to see you! How was the journey here?
Hey, what’s up dude! Great to see you as well! It was good, good, like no traffic or nothing, I mean I walked as this is my local place, not far from where I live so, it was just 10min walk. Was thinking to maybe jog as usually I do go for a run around this time but decided to have this morning as my cheat morning. (laughs)

Did anyone recognised you on your way here? And do you get recognition on the streets often from the fans?
I guess, yeah, you do have people that come over and say that they know you and love your game and want to make some selfies and maybe even sign something, but in my area it has calmed down a little bit as people around here know each other and we act more like close neighbours instead of a pro player and fans. So, to answer your question – no, no one stopped me to take a selfie or ask for an autograph. I did see some usual faces on the street and waved at them and said hi, but that’s about it.

It is really easy to actually know who is from around the area and who is here just passing through or for other business as if I get recognized and you get that “all-fan” experience then you know for sure that they are not from around here.

You lived in other cities as well, which would you say is you favourite and why?
Well, I cannot say that I properly lived in other cities as I did not spend that much time in none of the teams I was drafted to or traded to, so it was kind of like temporary accommodation. I did not own no houses or apartments in none of the cities before Edmonton and I was just renting for the time being. Edmonton is really a place where I see spending my retirement days, probably between Latvia and Edmonton, so definitely from all the towns I have lived in Edmonton is my favourite and closest to my heart. But the one other town that will always be in close to my heart is Prince George as I spent my first three years after moving from Latvia and you could say that town was my first experience of North American culture and lifestyle and I will never forget it. Im sad that the Firebirds organisation decided to move the team away from Prince George, but that is business and I guess it was a good business decision. Nevertheless - Long Live Prince George Firebirds aka Firepigeons!


How long you been living in this area? And why did you chose to live here?
Well, if I am not mistaking then since season 36, so this would be my fifth year in Edmonton in general, but in this area specifically it would be my 4th year as I did not settle in with my own living space in the first year due to previous experiences of being traded and then needing to hustle with my properties in those towns to get rid of them as I had no need for that. Basically I wanted some assurances that I will be here for long term before investing. So yeah, I moved in this area after playing the first season and seeing that the management wants me to be part of the team long-term and they were willing to show it with actions not just words, which they did, and I was happy with my teammates and overall everything, so I started to look for a nice place and found this area to be perfect for my needs.

Why I chose this place? Because of its location and people around here. So basically, it was not just that I came to see the apartment and because I liked it I bought it. Nah, I saw the apartment first and it was exactly what I liked and wanted, so the next step was to see is the area itself what I like and want. So for the next two weeks I would come here, after the practices, and just hang around. I would come to this place where we are in now, speak with people, have fun, play some pool, just spend quality time. Yes, this area is quite far from our training facilities and the stadium but I don’t mind as in the end of the day, after a long practice, game, I just want to snap out of it and have a normal life. I want to come home, not hear all that beeping and police sirens and people shouting, that you would get in the town centre, and just relax.

Indeed, this part of the town is really nice, relaxed and safe in general! You mentioned that you had properties in other towns as well, tell me about what is the difference between other towns you lived in while playing for various SHL teams compared to Edmonton?
Well, every town has its own charm and I don’t want to go into details what is good, what is bad in each of the towns as I enjoyed my stay in all of them. Truth to be told even I did not had good luck with Portland as I actually never played a single game with Admirals and although being drafted to Portland, I spent most of my time in Prince George as by that time I was still playing in SMJHL and was traveling to Portland just for meetings and some important practices with coaches and staff. Prince George was my passage-way of adapting for a life overseas. I mean it’s so much different than living in Latvia as back there it’s all simple and plain. My town, Liepaja, is not that big so you don’t get that big-city vibe. We have sports teams but they are not as such high level of media and fan exposure as it is here, so I definitely had to adapt to some bits and pieces.

What do you miss the most from back home?
I don’t know. Food, parents, friends, girls I would say…I mean it’s not like there are no girls or I don’t have no friends but it is different. With girls it is a different story as I think Im just looking for something specific and I just have not found it yet. Sure I get a lot of invites and “offers” if you could call them like that, but Im not that type of guy and I don’t enjoy stuff like that. Im looking for a good girlfriend that could become my wife and nothing else. And about friends, again, it is different from having friends, teammates that you been with for few years and friends that you grew up with, that knows you the best, that you have shared more together than you can imagine. Also I would say that nationality does make the bond stronger.

So what’s about the food you mentioned? Is our food that much different?
I mean, not that it is different or that you could not find something you need that would be in Latvian cuisine, but at the same time there are things that I don’t like or wish would be different. For example I hate all the “produced” vegetables, I can get a proper veggie just during the seasons and in the farmers markets. I cannot stand tomatoes that are hard like apples, or fruits that are still green. Meat wise it is all good. That does not change place to place as you still have the same animals and the meat still tastes the same. Here the range of meat dishes actually are in way bigger range and I like that. But the main thing is – nothing ever will beat my grandmas’ homemade meals. That is just a description of “feeling like at home”.

Speaking about home, how is the weather here and back in Latvia?
To be honest I would say it is exactly the same. I mean Latvia is located on North side of the Europe and we have proper winters, proper summers, autumn and spring. With proper I mean, when its winter, it will be cold outside, when its summer, it will be hot outside. Here in Edmonton it is kind of similar although I must say that here it is a little bit more northern feeling as the winters do get a bit colder buy few degrees, while summers are not that hot either as in Latvia. But in general it is almost identical and I like it.
 
How often do you manage to keep touch with your friends and family back home?
I do yes, not often, as SHL is demanding when it comes to schedules and practices but I definitely do, especially with my family. We would call each other at least once per two days, sometimes even every day. They are following my progress, my games and support me from a far. It does become hard at times but that is something that you have to deal with and I believe it makes you stronger mentally. Of course skype and face-time makes it a little bit easier to keep the connection but still it’s not the same as having a nice family get-together or going out with my boys and girls.

And the last question – do you miss home and have you accepted Edmonton as your second home?
Of course I do, I mean isn’t it obvious? I think everyone does, if they are not from Edmonton or if their loved ones don’t live a few hour drive from Edmonton. I do try my best to make this as my second home and you can see it in my decisions of where to buy my house, where have I decided to live and stuff like that. It will take more than 5-6 years to fully adapt and call this place my home but I can see it happening in the future. I know that after I retire I will go back to Latvia as I want to spend my grandpa days in Latvia but that is a far future and I have many years left here, on this side of the globe.

After having this lovely and intimate conversations we ordered some food, some drinks (non-alchoholic as Teo does not drink and I respected that) and played some pool, where I beat his arse every single time, so yeah, good thing he is a hockey player as I don’t see a future for him in pool at least. And I have to say that this local establishment was a delight, the food was really good, drinks were splendid and the atmosphere was great, so I must say that Teo did a great research before settling in for good. Of course we had some more discussions about various topics but unfortunately for you it all was off record.