You’re filling big shoes in following Don Vaughan and Terry Slater as head coach. What does that mean to you?
“It means everything, and I don’t take it lightly. I’m starting to turn a little gray from stress because I want to win so badly for our guys, our school, our alumni. I love all 26 of our players, they’re great humans, but it’s all the guys who came before them too. Don and the assistant coaches I had in the ’90s, they formed my thoughts on how the game should be played, how it should be coached. I keep paying that forward.”
You’re Colgate’s all-time leading scorer with 214 points. Which of your 88 goals do you remember most?
“I remember almost all my goals. Each time it felt like I achieved something and all my extra work, all those early mornings, paid off. There’s nothing better than the feeling of scoring a goal; there’s this fleeting moment of extreme satisfaction before you get punched in the gut on your next shift. It’s that few seconds of extreme joy that makes me remember nearly all of them.”
What was it like playing in the American Hockey League and winning the Calder Cup with the Hartford Wolf Pack?
“You learn what works, what doesn’t work, how guys interact on winning teams. I loved my time in pro hockey, and it got to a point where I knew it was fleeting, so every season, every game, mattered more.”
Tell us about playing professionally in Finland, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Sweden?
“In the early 2000s, especially in Sweden, those teams were on the cutting edge of skill development in terms of managing practices, how to do off-day workouts. I loved stealing their ideas, and I loved learning different languages. It was fun. It was a little easier on your body, too; because it’s a bigger rink, you don’t get hit as much.”
How do you motivate your players?
“In our locker room I have the players’ youth hockey pictures above their name plates. I’ll say, ‘Think about who took that picture. Was it your mom, your dad, an uncle? What did they sacrifice to get you to the rink at 5 a.m.? How much did they give up to get you to this Division I school?’ It’s about getting them to reach their full potential.”
You are Class of 1997. Do you hear from fellow alumni?
“We have alums come in all the time and talk to our team. They also read the starting lineups before games in the locker room. So I definitely feel the weight of it. The program’s in a good spot. I firmly believe we can win here. Hopefully our alumni believe that, too, and feel included in the process.”
Is winter tougher in Winnipeg, where you’re from, or in Hamilton?
“Winnipeg. I go back to visit family but never in winter. It’ll get down to -40 degrees. It’s miserably cold, which was a great motivator for me as a kid to get out of bed early every morning and get to the rink where I’d shoot pucks every day. Coach Vaughan saw me while I was playing in a junior league in Saskatchewan, and that’s how I was recruited to come to Colgate.”
Tim Hortons or Dunkin’?
“I love how [Tim Hortons’] door handles are hockey sticks, so I have to lean toward them. It’s still a hangout place for my dad. We’re actually from Saint Adolphe, a small town south of Winnipeg, and that’s where he goes to catch up about the game the night before or how Connor McDavid played or….”