During the offseason, Kristians teammates made him think he needed to be an enforcer in order to fit in. The veterans of the team would show off their fighting skills and tell him if he wanted to be a captain one day he would also have to learn to fight. In order to prove his worth, Mikelis decided to take on boxing as a hobby outside of hockey. To prove his worth, Kristians made a personal goal to fight as many star players as possible. Being from Latvia and mainly speaking Latvian, this would be a challenge. In order to get under opposing players Mikelis took a page out of Bruins legend Brad Marchand's book. When the play would be blown dead by a whistle, Kristians would go up to the opposing teams star player and quickly lick them on the cheek. This would work just as intended and would usually enrage the other team. Kristians would then use his newfound boxing skills to wipe the floor with his opposition and then go on with his day.