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The roller-coaster draft year of on-ice scrutiny is finally over. You have prepared and worked throughout your life to get noticed by the SHL. At last, the moment is here, when you meet face-to-face with a team. The good thing is they are interested. What should you say? After all, just how much is there to know about you since you have spent most of your 18 years inside a rink, car, classroom and gym?

As a top-tier prospect, it is inevitable you will have to go through a series of post-draft interviews. All interviews vary in styles and format. For a team, it gives insight into a prospect’s personality and how much room they have for growth. Will you fit in with a team’s “philosophy” or not?

Recently, I got the pleasure to sit down with recent Hamilton draftee Oliver Konig. The highly touted German prospect has spent the last season developing and working in Prince George and as a result of his dedication to growing his game, he is wanted by a lot of teams but the Steelhawks are lucky to draft him.



Q. What’s your reaction, and are you surprised at all?
A lot of excitement for sure. I didn’t really know where I was going to go, a lot of teams showed some interest in me but I had a feeling i would be going to Hamilton, and I am really excited to be here. It is really tough to put into words but it is a big day for my friends, family, and myself.

Q. I know you’re friends with Ronnie Westbrook and some others. Does that make it easier for you?
For sure. I think if you are going somewhere and do not know anyone there it is going to be a tough transition. But knowing these guys will help and I think it will make the process and the coming few years easier for me.

Q. The Steelhawks have a nice history; would you like to help them end their drought and rebuild?
[i]I think every hockey players wants to win a Cup so that is one of my main goals but I want that to happen in Hamilton. If I could win a Cup in Hamilton, that would be unbelievable

Q. Have you had a chance to think about the fit in terms of the organization? With the Steelhawks and the Rage the last couple of weeks, I am sure that had to have crossed your mind at some point?
[i] A little bit, sure. But I try to live in the moment and enjoy what it is going on; just enjoy the moment and this experience. I am going to enjoy it with my friends and family and then get back to work so I can hopefully crack the roster in the next few season.

Q. Is there a sense of relief? You’ve had a trying year with injuries and not playing much in the past but you stayed injury free last season. Are you glad that’s behind you and you can move forward?
[/i] Yeah, obviously you never want to be injured, especially in your draft year. Obviously dealing with injuries in the past can be tough and I think that makes me a stronger player. It is adversity like that that help you become stronger as a person and as a player.[/i]

Q. When you came to Hamilton for the medical check, were you nervous about that? Did you feel as though you were basically having to sell yourself that you’re a healthy player?
No, it did not bother me. If you do not want to draft me, do not draft me. I should not have to sell my health like that. I am really happy to be here and the team doctors are fantastic.

Q. What’s next for you to make sure you are in the SHL the next few seasons?
[i]Just a few good season of training and getting bigger and stronger. Everyone in the SHL are strong skaters and getting to that level is my main thing to work on.

Q. Playing on a team with Nour Harrak, what do you think about that?
Oh he will be a start here right away, he is an unbelievable player. He has everything to be an SHL star in my mind.


Q. How did the tour go with you and Roman Augustus? Obviously you have been taken to the same events over the course of a few weeks. Is it a friendship, a bond, a rivalry?
It was awesome. He is an awesome guy and I love hanging out of him. We made a good friendship over the last bit of time here and it was not a rivalry at all. I am really happy for him and you could tell that his family and all the other draftees were happy for him as well. I think it is really cool to see a player from the south to go really high in the draft. I think that will really help grow the SHL.

Q. Who’s here from your family tonight?
My dad, my mom and my 2 brothers. Everyone came from Germany, it was great.

Q. As an offensive defenseman that you have been pegged as, do you see yourself as a guy that this franchise is really going to build around?
I do not like to think that far ahead. My main goal is to make the SHL roster and establish myself a little bit. I am going to play the game and try to contribute as much as I can. I think the Steelhawks have a good team and they are only going to get better if you look at the rest of the core coming up we have some great prospects so I think in a couple of years we will be one of the best teams in the league. We have the tools for that now.

Q. What will be your biggest obstacle trying to crack the roster?
I do not like to look at it that way. I will just control everything I have the power to and I am going to give everything I have to make the team.

Q. How did Gooney help put you in that chair?
I could go on and on about Gooney, obviously. He is huge for me and me being in Hamilton. I think him and the rest of the management team in Hamilton are really heading in the right direction. It is unreal the guys we got to draft this time around and next draft things will also continue to get better.

Q. How much do you think the impact your dad and older brother have made on your career, two guys that played in the SHL?
Yeah they really have been my two biggest role models throughout everything. They have helped me since I was a kid and my dad is a lot like me. We both have goofy personalities and we are always making jokes and my brother is a little more serious. I try to mix the two personalities together.

Q. What was going through your mind after the first couple picks were announced?
I hope i go soon, haha. I was not rattled or anything that I had not been picked yet. I am really happy for the 4 players to have been drafted before me, they are really great guys. I am really happy how things played out.

Q. Did you get to know the other prospects better this week since you had all those other events?
Yeah there are a lot of events around the draft and it was good seeing all my friends again that were drafted to different SMJHL teams around the league. We enjoyed hanging out and having fun together again.

Q. What were the first thoughts that went through your mind when your name was called?
It is hard to put that into words. I was really excited and happy and that I now have another opportunity to meet a lot of really great people again and I was really happy to have all my friends and family here to support me through the draft process.

Q. How do you feel about eventually moving to a city like Hamilton?
I am really excited. I have visited there a few times and it is a great city and place to play hockey. I like the way the team plays and I am excited to join them and be apart of the franchise.

Q. What was it like before the first pick was announced?
I was a little nervous, but it was not too bad. I was ready to expect anything but again, I am really happy how everything turned out. I am really happy to be apart of the Steelhawks organization and I am really excited to see where everything goes from here.

Code:

1499 words ready for grading :)

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arigato to everyone for the dope sigs <3

Tom Holberg|| RW || Anchorage Armada


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júnior Guarda
Throat Goat

so glad we got you :wub:

Originally posted by Gooney@Aug 2 2017, 05:53 PM
so glad we got you :wub:

ily

arigato to everyone for the dope sigs <3

Tom Holberg|| RW || Anchorage Armada


| Updates | Player Page |