I never thought in a million years that I would have ever gotten to 1000 posts when I started this last summer but since joining the best locker rooms I could have hoped for in Detroit and LA here I am pass nag the 1000 post mark. I thought that I would open it up to you all if you had any questions for me about the current state of the Panthers and Pedersen as we approach S23.
Quote:rfbeaudry
If you could give one piece of advice to new rookies getting involved with the league, what would it be?
First Congrats on joining the Detroit Falcons. Esa is an amazing GM, and will have you contending for the Cup however long you may spend in Detroit. You certainly are in the right place for being a new member in the league. Esa and Mook are two of the best when it comes to mentoring new players. I joined last June with no expectations to be an active member at all. Getting drafted to Detroit was key to being active. Esa was the Co-GM that first year, but the Locker room wasn’t very active, and we didn’t have much success. However, once Esa took over the head GM role, and we had a bunch of send downs for year 2, and a great group of rookie’s including Mook, the locker room took off, and fueled my desire to be as active a member as I could. As a player I think that Endurance is one of the most important stats to improve, especially with a defenseman that play more than anybody else. If you were a forward, I would tell you to improve your defense as much as possible. I had a rough go of it as a rookie, since I only focused on improving the offensive side of my player. My 1st offseason was spent completely on defense and it made a world of difference going from scoring 22 points and being a negative 5 on the year to putting up 47 points and being a plus 18 for the season. It might not be sexy, but Endurance and defense are my two keys to success.
Quote:Ragnar#sweg( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
How do you feel about being on the Panthers?
First off I would like to congratulate you on leading the league in scoring last year. I am glad I was able to be apart of it, and I would also like to thank you for being a big part in turning around Pedersen’s season. I hope that the chemistry that we had on the ice will continue for years to come. That being said, I could not be any happier to be a part of this team. When I was drafted (43rd Overall in the S20 draft) by Toronto, I was traded two days later to Minnesota. My time there was rocky at best, I’m glad they have it turned around, but I was ecstatic when Wasty (my team mate in Detroit) told me that I had been acquired by the Panthers and that they were going to have me center the 2nd line. At that point , I had already been told by Minnesota that I was going to be sent back to Detroit for a 3rd year (which would have made me happy, since Esa and I have known each other forever, and probably would have resulted in a cup) they started wavering on that promise, and felt like I wasn’t going to be there for the long haul. So they moved me, and from the get go Wasty said you’ll play big minutes on a team with young players (and a couple of superstars ïŠ) and be part of the core that will get the teams “rebuild†done faster. It was said to go from Detroit, but it was nice to know that I was going to be apart of something that was being built. Now in year 3 seeing that this team has already been to a game 7 of the Finals, I couldn’t have drawn up a better scenario that would make me happier than LA.
Goals for this season?
My goals for the season are 2 fold. 1. To get back to the Finals and bring the Cup back to LA. 2. I want to help Morley get another scoring title. My second year in Detroit, playing on the first line with 2 excellent send downs, I had the same goal, to get one of them the scoring title. Unfortunately, they fell a couple of points short to Boyka the stud, but I think I ended up 2nd in the league in assists, and I really enjoyed helping out teammates get on the scoreboard. So hopefully I don’t let you down this year, and if this season Boyka wins the scoring title, then we all will be celebrating my first goal for the year.
Thoughts on your S22 effort?
Last year was really a tale of two seasons for me. I was horrendous for the first part of the year. No if ands or buts about it. I was floundering with 7 points through the first 20 games or so. Things unfortunately were not clicking with the new 2nd line that you and Wasty had put together. Once you guys shook the lines up, we collectively took off as a team. At one point we were like 12-1-2 in the 15 games after the shake up. Winning cures everything, and it didn’t hurt that I was piggybacking on your success, scoring nearly a point a game over the final 32 games of the year.
Favorite ice cream?
There is a place where I live that has Peanut Butter ice cream with peanut butter in it that is amazing. Other than that I would say Rocky Road, or if I am buying Ben & Jerry’s it would be Phish Food, a. because its a lot like rocky road, and b. I am a huge fan of the band Phish.
Biggest pet peeve in the shl/smjhl setting?
My biggest pet peeve in the SHL setting is the PT tasks. I actually dislike writing a great deal ( who would have known after my 16K word season in review). And I am terrible at graphics, so PT’s are hard for me to do. I treat them like Band-Aids, Get them done as quick as possible.
Weekend plans?
This past weekend was about as long a weekend as I’ve ever had. I left Thursday night to fly to Minneapolis (I live in Florida) where my brother is in the process of moving to Florida. So I spent Friday hanging out with my nephew watching the Masters, which was hilarious, he is 2 and whenever a golfer misses a putt, he says “try again,†which makes me laugh every time. Saturday Morning, with a car loaded with Beer/Wine and two dogs, we headed south. Our first stop was at the 3 Floyds Brewery in Northern Indiana, we hoped to get some Zombie Dust beer, which was a pipe dream apparently, we ended up with 2 more cases of beer in a car that was already stuffed to the gills. Fortunately my best friend lives in southern Indiana, so our first day was a little over 800 miles and 13 hours in the car. It was a short stay, less than 12 hours, but we ate a fantastic bone in ribeye steak for dinner, enjoyed a couple of beers, before calling it a night. Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. 860 miles to home, we left at 6AM, driving thru Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Georgia is a terrible state to drive thru, especially when it is pouring the rain. And boy was it pouring the rain. By the end of the trip, I had come down with a fever, and couldn’t get comfortable. Another 13 hours in the car, and my long weekend was complete (just in time for Game of Thrones).
What did you have for dinner?
My wonderful girlfriend had spaghetti made for me when I arrived home last night.
Quote:Steelhead77
Congrats on 1,000 posts!
That you very much my friend! Would never have made it, if not for you.
How many chicken parms are you going to eat to celebrate?
I would like to eat all the chicken parms, but that would be a disaster, plus I can’t really find one that is as good as Genoa or Camerons 24/7.
Are you going to ask for a parm incentive in your next contract like Esa did?
I am under contract for 3 more seasons, so I may have to revisit this in my next contract negotiations. Or maybe I will hire you as my agent to get the Chicken Parms done.
What do expect from Pedersen this season?
Pedersen is going to be an offensive force this season. I envision a type of year like my 2nd year in Detroit. I will be playing with Morley and Skarsgaard, which would be a dream for any center in this league. A bonafide superstar, and a underrated complete player that hits anything that moves. Hawkins and Hauke for similar players, and I had a tremendous amount of success getting the puck to them. I hope to rack up a ton of assists, while playing a solid two-way game. I changed my weakness this offseason from Defense to Checking, so I won’t be hitting anywhere near to the 110 hits I had last year, instead I beefed up my endurance, skating, and defense, so that I won’t be a liability to the team on the ice.
Are you still shooting on your little brother in the basement?
Great question. My little brother has hung up the goalie pads. I could have used a refresher course last season after I started out shooting around 2% thru the first 20 games.
When is the next basement hockey times exclusive article coming out?
I’m not sure. I really dislike writing, and that last article I did was to pay for my weakness change. I am happy that I was able to pay that off, but it may be a while before the Basement Hockey Times prints another addition. If I was smart, I would write a season recap throughout the season, updating it daily instead of spending hours putting together one at the end of the year.
Will you take Panthers rookie Chris Johnson under your wing this season?
Absolutely! I really enjoyed playing with Chris in Detroit, and am ecstatic that he is finally going to be joining us in the SHL. He is a perfect fit for our 3rd line. Our 3rd & 4th line last year accounted for 77 points, and I fully expect Chris, Jigsaw, and Ruutu to surpass that number. We have a very strong team, that is going to contend for the championship.
What advice would you give him or any other rookie entering the SHL?
Focus on endurance and defense are the keys to success. I said it before, it’s not sexy, but it is a must to be a player that can be counted on.
Is Rocky 4 your favorite movie of all time?
I must break you! It is up there, with Roadhouse for sure.
Top 5 sandwiches?
1. Chicken Parm
2. Wrights Gourmet Club Sandwich
3. Roast Beef, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo on a seeded grinder roll.
4. Meatball Parm
5. Cuban Sandwich
#1 All-Time SHL Goal & Point Scorer - First 2,000 TPE Player in SHL History - - First 400 Goal Scorer in SHL History - - Only 500 Goal Scorer in SHL History - - First GM to Win 5 & 6 Challenge Cups - Esa Anrikkanen Award - SMJHL ROY - Est. S34 Vidrik Onoprienko Award Winner - S45
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