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***Benpachi*** · 10-17-2021, 03:31 PM

Max Power here with SportsNOW Actiondesk. We had a chance to sit down with Carolina Kraken Alternate Captain and Montreal Patriotes prospect Roderic Banes following the elimination of Team Canada from the World Junior Championships Tournament. We caught up with Roddy at his home in Vancouver, British Columbia, where what would be his final offseason as a Kraken was beginning.

MP: "Thanks for sitting down with us, Roderic, it's good to have a chance to catch up."

RB: "Happy to have you here."

MP: "Let's start with your thoughts on Carolina's season and then we can talk a little about the WJC."

RB: "It was certainly an exciting year. We had a lot of key guys get called up, and that put a lot of question marks around our team going into the season. Fortunately, management made some really good draft picks and trades and we ended up with a terrific squad. The opening run we had was just an amazing high, we felt totally untouchable. WE struggled a bit after that, but then I think we sorta climbed steadily toward the post-season."

MP: "Let's talk about that series against Quebec City. Two years in a row now you have been part of the Carolina squad facing the Citadelles in the second round. And two years in a row they've got the upper hand."

RB: "I'm not sure how much more light I can shed on that, Max. They're a solid franchise, caught up a little like us in that state of being perenially competitive but having a hard time cracking the very top ranks. Personally I am not 100% satisfied with my performances in either season. They're a team that, for whatever reason, I struggle against. They're also a team that can really turn it up in post-season, and we just couldn't hack the pace."

MP: "Your Montreal teammate, Stan Din'desque, led that Quebec squad, how did it feel to match up against someone you'll likely be playing alongside in a few seasons?"

RB: "Well it wasn't great. *laughs* Stan's a tough guy to play against. We keep things friendly, obviously, but there's always that competition, even if it's between friends. He got the best of me this time, and it looks like the last time we'll face off in Juniors. I'm looking forward to playing with him in Montreal. He's a good finisher, well-rounded guy and I think we'll play well together. We both like to play a 200 foot game, and I think we'll be able to do some damage out there if we line up together."

MP: "Let's talk about the World Juniors."

RB: "Sure."

MP: "Team Canada struggled a little last year, had a much better performance this year. What can you tell us about the team, and how you all felt about your performance this year?"

RB: "I think we had a terrific roster this year, especially on the back end. Nor Dekes between the pipes, and the blue line were our strongest pieces. We struggled to generate the offence we needed, and obviously that hurt us in the long run. But we looked good, I think we held our own in some tough matchups."

MP: "The round robin game versus team USA, let's talk about that. Certainly an exciting one, you drew a lot of matchups against your Carolina teammates Atticus Hale, as well as Vincent and Tanner Fox, and your fellow Montreal draftee Miles O'Brien."

RB: "Atticus has a terrific game, and he did a lot of great work for Team USA. He's a tough guy to play against for sure, but I'm not going to say it wasn't a lot of fun. All the Kraken guys were big pieces for their national teams, and it was really great to see. It's always fun to match up against the guys; we face off in practice, but to get the game scenario going, get your blood up, it's just exciting. They really outplayed us for the first two and a half periods. Definitely not our best play. We had that late rally, but it wasn't enough. Nor Dekes though, can't say enough about him. He kept us in that game, gave us every chance to come back. Would've been great to squeeze out a win, just for him, but we couldn't pull it off. It sucks, but"

MP: "And you had that last-minute goal to force overtime, unfortunately not enough to pull off a win."

RB: "Paul got our second with just under four minutes left, i think they had forty shots to our ten, we were really getting hammered. But Paul put that one in and I thought 'okay, if we're gonna do this, it's now.' I got out there, minute and a half left, I managed to pick up the rebound from Zak and tucked it in."

MP: "Another Montreal teammate, Zak Wilson, is it important to get these chances to build chemistry with your future squadmates?"

RB: "Oh absolutely, it's going to go a long way. Zak's terrific on the blue line, and he's going to do a lot of good for Montreal. I think Montreal has a lot of exciting guys coming up, and I hope I can be one of them."

MP: "Now I know it's painful, but can we talk about the final play in that game?"

RB: "Oh, yeah. I turned it over, lost the puck battle on the clear and Burrow managed to put it away. It was tough, to have that last minute comeback, only to lose so quickly. I'm still carrying that a little, I pride myself on my defensive play and I really dropped the ball on that. It's something I want to work on going into the offseason."

MP: "What do you have planned for this offseason? Season 62 is looking to be your final one with Carolina, are you going to be doing anything special to prepare?"

RB: "Well as far as the offseason is concerned I'm going to take a little break now, spend some time at home, catch up with some old friends and see the family. I've got a plan set up with my trainers, and I'll be working on tuning up some weak points, but I'm feeling good. I think I've been developing well on the ice as a key roster piece for Carolina. I'm confident in my game. It's not always showing up on the scoreboard, but I'm helping the team and putting in the work. I wanted to stay this extra season because so many of our veteran guys are moving up. After a big shakeup last offseason, I gave it a lot of thought and I decided it was important to help keep things settled in the locker room. I have a lot of faith in the up and coming guys, Atticus, Patya are going to be big figures next season. It comes down to I think I have more to give, and if I can help the young guys out for one more season that's what I'm going to do."

MP: "Any final thoughts?"

RB: "It's going to be an emotional season, and we haven't even said our last goodbyes yet. It's hard to see these guys get called up after such a short time, but like we always say: Once a Kraken, Always a Kraken."

(1282 words)

***Inf1d3l*** · 10-20-2021, 06:01 AM

Get some in Carolina this season!

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