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Jester John · 10-30-2021, 09:02 PM

A first time interview with Bilbo Baggins from the Great Falls Tribune! The first, first round pick of the Great Falls Grizzlies!

Congratulations on signing your first contract! Tells us what your first thoughts were when your name came up on the board?

Super excited to be here! The success the Great Falls Grizzlies had last year while being an expansion team is something to be marveled. I hope to contribute to their future success and get even farther next year. Chatting with the General Managers before the draft led to some great conversations where we really hit it off right away. I feel like my role may double as a cook for the locker room too. Some of these players’ appetites could rival a dwarf’s. Last night to celebrate I kept listening to Don’t Stop Believing on repeat. It’s been such An Unexpected Journey.

Tell us more about what the other new team mates drafted along with you. It was an exciting night for everyone I’m sure.

GFG has added me on Left D, Brain Brettski at Centre, and Brent Ashe II on Right D. We’re all ready to help build upon the success this team had last year. We’re going to have a strong D core, and a wicked offense. Also apparently our goalie is a literal brick wall? I didn’t know that was legal. I’m looking forward to meet him; I’ve never made friends with a wall before. Overall, the locker room has been great so far in order to make us newbies feel welcome. Only issue so far - is that I keep calling Brain Brian. Is this just me?

What are your plans now that the draft is over?

I don’t know what to do with this signing bonus, there so many tea’s over here to try. I’m probably going to get settled into Great Falls and try all the tea. Finding a place to live has been interesting. All of the ceilings are far too high, and the top shelves are hard to reach. However, most jetted bathtubs can double as a lap pool which will be great at training my endurance. I may spend a significant portion of my signing bonus on ladders for each room.

Hockey-wise, next week at training camp is where the real tests begin. There are many areas where I can improve. This is the time where it is imperative to build chemistry with all potential line mates and learn new systems from our coach. Due to my stature, we're going to have some unique plays I'm sure most of the league hasnt seen before. There are many new challenges ahead.

One of the most surprising parts of being signed in the J is the business end. I had a HR all over me about branding. Apparently due to my size, selling branded Bilbo merchandise for children’s gear is going to be all the rage. They even wanted me to play with elementary school children for a photo op. As much as it would make me feel at home again, it's humiliating at the same time. Ahh, I just want to play hockey, not get all caught up in this entire marketing ruckus.

Any predictions or goals for your upcoming rookie season?

I’d like to show folks that size doesn’t matter. It’s what you do with what you got that counts. I’d like to be a contributor offensively and score a few goals. With my low center of gravity it’s going to take some time for goalies to get adjusted to my shot, I’ve got to take full advantage of that before they get a book on me. Defensively I need to build some rapport with my line mates since I have a few short comings. Hopefully we can learn off of each other and with the coach’s guidance we can shut down other teams. Lastly a personal goal of mine would to hopefully not get mistaken for the puck more than a dozen times or so throughout the season. I would chalk that up as a personal win.

Err, thank you so much Bilbo! We’ll be sure to reach out again once the season is underway!

(approx 700 words) (maybe exactly 698 - who's counting?) (mind you that 698 not including this last line)

***Benpachi*** · 10-30-2021, 09:23 PM

Love it! Can't wait to see Shireland dangles and cellys!

***brickwall35*** · 10-30-2021, 11:16 PM

One Ring = 4 Star Cup, simple math

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