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Ashes · 07-16-2018, 04:32 PM

Code:
ready for grading, 1462 words, i wrote most of his before wjc finals but didn't have the time to finish it and i didn't really want to make any changes

Hello, Ēriks! So, how's the offseason been?

It's been quite exciting. A lot of interesting stuff has happened this offseason. The SHL Draft, the World Championships, the World Junior Championships have all been great - being picked 6th overall by the Steelhawks, finishing 4th with team Latvia in the main World Championships, and now being in the World Juniors finals with team Eastern Europe. I've also been spending a lot of time practicing - I didn't do very well last season, and I want to change that.

What aspects of your game have you mainly been spending time working on?

I've been working on my scoring and passing, mostly. I want to get more goals and more assists, and that's not gonna happen unless I put in the work to get better at scoring. I've also been trying to improve my physical game a little more.

So what else have you gotten up to during the offseason?

Nothing much, really. When I'm not playing or practicing, I usually stay at home and relax so I can practice even more later.

Now let's talk about the SHL draft. How well did your mock go?

You know, I put a lot of time and research into my mock. I thought my mock was pretty good, I was expecting to do quite well. Then the draft happened and that all went to waste! I only got 6 picks right... at least I got something, I guess.

You were drafted by the Hamilton Steelhawks with the 6th overall pick. How do you feel about being picked so early in the draft?

I'm very honored to have been picked so early in the draft. When a team picks you this early on in the draft, that means that they think that you're going to be one of the best players in your draft class and they believe that you will develop into a great player. It also kind of puts a lot of pressure on you - if you're picked early on in the draft, then fans of the team tend to have very high expectations of you and you have to try to live up to them. I'll try not to dissappoint.

What are your thoughts on being drafted by the Steelhawks?

I'm very happy to have ended up on the Steelhawks. Hamilton was actually the team that I was hoping to end up on the most - the Hawks are a very strong team, and they also seem to have a very fun locker room atmosphere, which made them my #1 destination.

Did you know you were going to end up in Hamilton?

Well, sort of. I had been in contact with the Steelhawks' GM before the draft - he was actually my GM in Vancouver before being hired by the Steelhawks - and he told me that he was likely going to pick me at 6th overall. There might have been a small chance that one of the top 5 teams would have picked me though (well, except for New England - everyone knew that the Pack would pick Ulrich first).

Have you gotten to know any of your future teammates in Hamilton?

Yeah, I've chatted with them a little bit. They seem to be a fun group of guys and I think they'll be a very fun group of players to play alongside when I come up to the SHL in a couple of seasons. The Steelhawks locker room has a very fun vibe to it, which is very important to me in a team.

So the SMJHL draft also happened quite recently. What have your first impressions of the new Whalers been?

The new guys have been awesome so far. They've all been a really good addition to our locker room, and they also happen to be pretty good at hockey. I think that some of them - especially Mauldin - could become SHL superstars in the future.

Is there anyone in particular that you were hoping the Whalers would draft?

I was kind of hoping that we'd be able to get Leshaun King - I've talked with him a couple times and he seems like he'd be a really good teammate, plus he's one of the best players from this draft class right now. Sadly Halifax took him before we had a chance to pick though.

From this SMJHL draft class, which players do you think will end up being the best?

One player who I think will turn out great is Leshaun King, who I just mentioned. King is probably one of the most hardest working and most dedicated players in the SMJHL right now, and if he keeps that up I think he'll be great. Two other players I would also like to mention here are Jax Aitokallio and one of my new teammates - Max Mauldin. If we're talking about the SMJHL though, I also want to mention Crush Cile. Cile has said that he wants to spend the most time that he can - 5 seasons - in the SMJHL and then retire. I think he's going to be dominant for most of his career in the SMJHL and I honestly think he should've gone even earlier than 4th. In my opinion, Halifax made a great choice picking him up.

The WJC is currently ongoing, and team Eastern Europe is in the grand final! What are your thoughts before your gold medal match against Canada?

I'm really excited for the final. I think we've got a very good chance at taking home the gold, although Canada is a very strong team too. The team managers have done a great job assembling this squad.

Which game has been the hardest for you so far in the WJC?

The hardest game in the WJC so far actually was against the team we're about to play in the finals. It was our second game of the group stage, against Canada. It was a struggle through all 3 periods, but they scored the final goal to put them up 4 to 3 just 6 seconds before the end of regulation. As you can probably imagine, we were pretty frustrated after that game. Another game I want to mention was also in the group stage and it was also against Canada. We won 3-2, but it was a tough game.

Alright, now back to the SMJHL. The preseason just wrapped up, and the Whalers finished 4th. How well do you think you did as a team and how well did you do personally?

We didn't quite do as well as we were hoping to. 4th place isn't good enough, we want to finish at least 2nd and I think we're good enough to do that. Preseason was also kinda dissappointing for myself personally - I only got a total of 19 points which, while not too bad and MUCH better than last season, is not nearly as much as I was hoping to get.

Were there any big surprises in the preseason?

I think the two biggest surprises were Halifax and Montreal. Halifax played really well in this preseason, finishing 3rd, which is very surprising for a team with so many rookies. Usually rookies aren't too good in their first SMJHL season, they usually take a while to adjust to the higher level of play than they might be used to in junior leagues. Personally, I don't think this is going to carry on to the regular season - I don't see them being nearly as good as they were in the preseason. I think they're going to be a bottom 4 team, but there's still a good chance they make the playoffs. They're going to be very scary next season though, with all of their rookies getting much better. The other big surprise for me - Montreal - surprised me because they did much worse than I was expecting them to. 7th place isn't even close to how good they are - I personally see them as a top 3 team in the league, and I think they'll do much better in the regular season.

Do you think the Whalers will win the cup this season? If not, then who else do you have taking it all?

This is the year of the Whaletail. I think we're going to take the Four Star Cup home with us this season. We have a VERY strong team - the best defense in the league, a very potent offense and a solid goalie. If we don't win though, then I don't really know who else will win. As long as it's not Kelowna, all is good in the world. Maybe Montreal could take it, if they can find their form after their lackluster preseason.

DeletedAtUserRequest · 07-17-2018, 12:54 PM

Nice read
+1

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