And so it is done. The S42 SMJHL draft is now completed and will likely go down as one of the deepest drafts in history. It had the third largest draft class ever, so it's only natural. Our Halifax Raiders were in a golden position with six of the first twele picks of the draft. Today I'm interviewing one of them, Québec-born defenseman Pierre Laroche-Durocher.

Bio
Name: Pierre Laroche-Durocher
Height: 6'04
Weight: 204 lbs
Birthplace: St-Marc-des-Carrières, Québec, Canada

H.R. = Halifax Reporter
P.L.-D. = Pierre Laroche-Durocher

H.R. :Tell us about you first, what kind of player are you?

P.L.-D.: I'm all about defense. I'm a pure defensive defenfenseman, a classic stay-at-home guard. I don't score many goals and I don't even try to, that's not my game. My game is to stay back and keep the opponent as far as possible from both the puck and the net, by any means necessary. I usually try to use my long reach first to poke-check and lift sticks. I can also throw a mean hit if anyone tries to sneak past me or keeps his head down, but to me defense is first and foremost about technique, positionning and anticipation.

H.R.: What was your thought process as the draft approached?

P.L-D.: I knew it was a really deep draft, but I never feared not to be drafted. However, I wanted to be drafted for the good reasons, so I made sure to make myself as visible as I could and show every GM in the league that I can be a very good locker room presence and that I'm always willing to improve. I also wanted to stick out a bit from the rest of the defensemen of the draft class as a lot of them are offensive or two-way defensemen. But all in all, I just wanted to be drafted by someone who actually wanted me personnally on their team and not just because I was what was left.

H.R.: You went 11th overall, the third pick of the second round, so it worked. Did any other team show interest?
P.L.-D.: I guess it did work, though I was surprised to go this high. Most of the teams had contacted me and we had a little chat, and some contacted me while I was unavailable so I couldn't answer their questions before the draft. I think only one team didn't try to get in touch.

H.R.: How did you feel when you heard your name called?
P.L.-D.: Surprised at first, I had no idea  I was going to be picked in the first 4 rounds, let alone the first half of the second. But after that initial shock, I was really glad they had such confidence in my potential that they'd draft me with that pick. Now I just have to work even harder so they won't regret it - I know there's a lot of players who were drafted later that have already mentionned a strong will to make those who passed on them pay, but I won't have the Raiders regret passing on them with the 11th pick. 11th, I can't even believe.

H.R.: Speaking of the Raiders, how do you feel about playing for Halifax?
P.L-.D.: I'm totally stoked. As I said, most teamed got in touch with me at some point, but every other GM just stuck to the basic questions and we didn't seem to click much, whereas Dizzy and Danga really took the time to chat and we got along really well. They look like geniunly good people who only want what's best for us players and I think I'll thrive under them.

H.R.: The Raiders are going through a reconstruction right now though, how do you see that going?
P.L.-D.: I think the way they did with the draft, we can become far more dangerous than people make us to be a lot faster than people think. It's fine if it takes some time too, we will all need some time to adjust and grow, but there's a lot of confidence in the locker room that we can be good soon.

H.R.: What will be your role in this team?
P.L.-D.: I'll be boring and say that I'm ready to play whatever spot management deems best. I think they plan to have me starting on the second pairing so that I have both the carrot and the stick to motivate me: trying to get up to the first pairing and fearing of being retrograded to the third. I'm hoping I can get some time on the penalty kill too. No matter what, I want to be a reliable defenseman who will make our goalie's job really easy.

H.R.: Tell us about your fellow S42 draftees for the Raiders.
P.L.-D.: It's such a great group of guys. We've been chatting almost non-stop since the draft and we're getting along very well. With King and Cile on one line and the Kovacs on the other, if that's how management wants it - I know that's how I want it - our offenseis already guaranteed to be pure fire. Then there's Max (Egger) who will likely be my defensive partner and I think our play styles will complement each other well. And just as you think it can't get better, they brought in a lot of guys who look like potenial steals: Thomas Speardane, Mr. Faceoffs and Snipperi Baardownen, to name only a few. With some help from veteran players like Shooter (McGavin) and our lord and savior Geezus Kryyst between the pipes, we'll have fun and we'll win cups, I'm positive on both.

H.R.: Enough about hockey, the fans want to know the man behind the player. What are you into aside from hockey?
P.L-D.: I wouldn't know where to start, I love so many things. You have to ask me more specifically, by category.

H.R.: Let's start with something simple then: music. What do you listen to?
P.L.-D.: You call that simple? Right now I listen to a lot of Eminem. I always thought I hated rap, and part of me still does, but this guy is just a lyrical genuis. Plus, I'm learning as many of his song as possible, people say it's hard but I seem to have a talent for it, I even mastered the famous "fast part" of Rap God. It took me a month of listening to only this song non-stop, but I finally managed to do it.

Apart from that, you need to do a hard 180° and go towards some rock classics like AC/DC, Scorpions, Def Leppard and of course Metallica. I also instantly love any rock or metal bands that include "unconventionnal" instruments in their songs. Dropkick Murphy's is probably the most well-known, that mandolin is something special, so much so that I just bought one myself (I do play a mean campfire guitar and have been for years). There's also Alestorm that I'll recommend to any Raiders fan because it's Pirate Metal (actually they label it as Power-Folk Metal, but that's not as telling). And I couldn't live without ska-punk group Streetlight Manifesto and their 4-men horns section. Such good, entertaining music with the deepest, truest and sometimes saddest lyrics.

H.R.: What about TV shows, anything you like there?
P.L.-D.: I do like easy to watch sitcoms, big fan of How I Met Your Mother and the Office. I just finished Brooklyn Nine-Nine and don't know what to do with my life now. I also liked some more complex stuff like The Walking Dead (but I read the Comics and the show is not as appealing now) and Breaking Bad. And then there's Game of Thrones. I've read those books twice, I must've watched the series four or five times. I will literaly verbally abuse anyone who doesn't like it and feel like they deserved it.

H.R. Duly noted. Thanks a lot Pierre, and good luck with Halifax.

P.L.-D. Thank you.




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x2 bonus for draft-related content

Love it! Keep getting that money.

Great write up! Super excited to have you in the locker room

Love having you on the team man! So happy we could bring you in