I put on a pair of skates for the first time when I was 6 years old. My dad used to play hockey when he was younger and he wanted me to give it a go, and hopefully learn from an early age. I don't remember much of it, since it was so long ago now. But for some reason one of my first lessons on how to skate is still in the memory bank.

As most people who're learning how to skate, I started out walking/running on the ice and not actually skating. We were doing a "drill" which consisted of trying to skate from the penalty boxes to the player benches. But I didn't care much about _how_ we were supposed to skate. I was all about getting to the other side first. I guess you can say I've been competitive from the get-go.

I do remember having a lot of fun during those times. Trying to figure out skating and then being handed a stick, which was really helpful for my balance honestly. But especially because it turned into a kind of dad-son bonding thing as we went to more and more practices together.