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*Festinator* · 07-23-2020, 04:14 AM

Sitting down with Jonas Kahnwald - Post-Draft Interview
(2x draft media)

Da Interviewer: Hello all, Da Interviewer here and today, just one day before the start of preseason I am sitting here with Jonas Kahnwald, the 15th overall pick and one of the two newest members Newfoundland Berserkers, the other being Russian Vaseline Podcalzone. Thanks for joining us today Jonas!

Jonas Kahnwald: Thank you for having me Da.

D.I: So first off, how has the last week or so been for you?

J.K: It’s been a whirlwind! The excitement of the draft, the thrill of being picked by Newfoundland and getting to meet all those great players. It has definitely been a busy time.

D.I: You went 15th overall in the draft. That’s pretty good for a 1st generation player who has had no family members in the league before to set any sort of precedence. Do you believe you should have gone higher?

J.K: Honestly I’m just glad I was picked at all! It’s an honour to be picked no matter where you get picked in the draft, and you are offered all the same opportunities to improve and get better as the players picked ahead of you. Would I have liked to go earlier in the draft? Sure it would have been nice to say you went in the 1st round, or top 5. But at the end of the day, you’re just glad to be drafted and you work with what you’ve got. And honestly, with the group here in Newfoundland, I believe I’ve got a lot. The manager’s @SDCore and @JNH have been amazing, helping me out with a lot and the teammates have been top class, definitely some interesting characters in the dressing room, but it’s been so much fun.

D.I: Glad to hear it! Did you have any connections to the Berserkers before being drafted there?

J.K: Yes actually, my good friend Ryuuji Minamino was drafted to the Berserkers and I was very excited to join him there. It definitely helped having a familiar and friendly face in the dressing room and to get me acquainted with the league. He’s somewhat of a vet and so I don’t know how much longer he’ll be around in the J, but we’ll at least have one season to play together which will be sweet.

D.I: Always helpful to have a familiar face within the team. Were you familiar at all with fellow draft pick Vaseline Podcalzone?

J.K: Nah I only got to know him once we’d both joined the team but he’s pretty awesome. I guess you have to be with that name. He’s already fit into the team so well, got a meme up and running for the team the first day. He’s been keeping up with training so I think he’ll be a special player.

D.I: You mentioned earlier that you had some “interesting characters” in the dressing room. Care to elaborate?

J.K: Ya I dunno man, we got this guy, @Clean Andrei Kostitsyn. He’s pretty sweet, but he’s really obsessed with finding his brother Sergei. I guess he’s missing or something. I honestly didn’t think it was anything serious. During the interview process all the teams have, he was holding his own interviews apart from the Berserkers. They weren’t required or anything, just if us prospects wanted to do them. I thought why not, might be fun. And it was, mostly light-hearted and what I thought were joking questions, and so I answered them jokingly as well. One of the questions was if we knew where his brother Sergei was. I mean of course I didn’t know where he was, he couldn’t honestly expect that I would. And so I jokingly answered in that “john is kill” meme format right, but replaced john with Sergei. He failed me. As I left, he gave me a paper with a large F on it and said nothing else. In hindsight my actions may have been in poor taste, but I was talking to some of the other prospects that did the interview with him and apparently one of them got a G so, ya. I dunno, he’s an interesting dude that’s for sure.

D.I: Oh wow, a G. Ya that’s pretty wild.

J.K: Ya. Very clean dude though.

D.I: So from Leipzig, Germany are you?

J.K: Ya, just outside of it, tiny town called Winden but no one has ever heard of it so I just tell everyone I’m from Leipzig.

D.I: Interesting. I’m sure you had plenty of family and friends watching from back at home that are very proud of you.

J.K: Ya, I’ve got a few that have sent me some messages. My mom called me actually to congratulate me and my closest friends have been texting me non-stop, I haven’t even gotten a chance to respond to all of them!

D.I: It’s an exciting time! Do these friends also play hockey?

J.K: Nah just me, I’m the outlier. It almost feels like I don’t belong haha. My friends Bartosz, Martha and Magnus and their little brother Mikkel, they never got into it. But they’re happy for me.

D.I: I am sure little Mikkel is especially proud.

J.K: I think so too. It’s funny, he reminds me a lot of my late father. Just something about him.

D.I: Hmm interesting. So Jonas, tell us what kind of player you are.

J.K: Well, even though I am a defenceman, Offence has always been a big strength of mine. I like to join the rush, if i’m not leading them myself. I’m pretty quick and agile with good hands, if I do say so myself. And even though I love offence, I do realize I am a defence and so I have looked to excel at my checking and stick checking, and making sure I am also sound positionally. The more I can steal the puck, the more I can rush it afterwards!

D.I: That is the truth! So an offensive rushing defenceman who can be relied upon defensively. Everyone has weaknesses though, what do you think you could work on, Jonas?

J.K: Haha, no weaknesses here!

D.I: Haha…

J.K: ...

D.I: …

J.K: Ok well I’m only like 5’8 so I am obviously not the biggest hitter.

D.I: Very fair!

J.K: And I do hope to improve my shot blocking abilities in the future to help with the defensive side of my game.

D.I: Putting the body on the line ferda, that’s always a good quality in a defenceman. So Jonas, what did you know about the Newfoundland Berserkers before you were drafted by them?

J.K: Honestly, not much at all. I heard whispers that they were going to be really good this year. Didn’t realize how good they were going to be until I joined up with them. There is a ton of skill in this lineup, it must be the strongest lineup on paper in the league, from forwards down to goaltending. Lots of these guys look to be SHL ready. I honestly don’t think they could get any better as junior players, they are so top notch. Like it literally feels like there is some unseen force physically preventing them from gaining any more skill until they have graduated to the SHL. That’s how at the top of their game they are.

D.I: Ha.. ha well, that would be just silly wouldn’t it?

J.K: Yes of course,it’s nonsense, that’s just how it feels.

D.I: Right. Well, do you have any personal goals for the upcoming season Jonas?

J.K: I just hope to get my legs under me quickly and be able to help the team produce offence right off the bat. I know I’ll be starting on the 3rd pairing but I think there’s still a lot of good I can do from there. I’ll also take this season to figure out my defensive game at this level, there are a lot of skilled players out there that I’ll have to be defending against and if I am responsible in my own end, that will lead to more ice time.

D.I: Do you have any teams that you are excited to face off against?

J.K: I think it will be fun to face off against the two new expansion teams, Nevada and Quebec. Quebec we will be seeing pretty often since we will be in the same division. I also look forward to facing off against Carolina. One of my draft mates Aleksander Kozlov will be playing there. We had some good convos pre-draft and it will be fun to face off against him, especially him being one of the top draft picks. Also have a lot of respect for their manager @sve7en, who I also had some good chats with and who helped me out. Will be happy to shake their hands after we sweep them in the conference finals!

D.I: Haha I like the confidence! Do you have anything else you’d like to add Jonas?

J.K: Just that I’m ready to zerk with the Newfoundlads!

D.I: Pretty cheesy bud! But it was fantastic talking to you, best of luck with your rookie season.

J.K: Thanks for having me!

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