Interview with 5 veteran coaches
Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to interview five veteran coaches for the Michigan Hockey Coach’s Guide that comes out tomorrow. I talked to Red Berenson (UM head coach) in person at his office. I conducted phone interviews with Rick Comley (MSU head coach), Bob Daniels (Ferris State head coach), and Jeff Jackson (Notre Dame head coach). I also did an email interview with Plymouth Whalers’ head coach Mike Vellucci.
I asked each coach the same five questions. You can read their answers in entirety at Michigan Hockey’s website or by clicking read more below.
Interview with Jeremy Smith
I just got off the phone with Nashville Predators’ goaltending prospect Jeremy Smith (their #2 pick this year) as my boss at Michigan Hockey needed me to conduct an interview with him for our tryout guide coming out next month. Since he’ll probably only use one quote for the article, I figured I’d post the entire interview here. I also asked him a couple questions about being drafted and working with the Predators this offseason. Oh, Smith was also one of the two Plymouth Whalers’ goaltenders this past season as well.
What do you remember about trying out for a team while growing up? For example, did you ever get cut from a team but worked hard and made it the next year or got so nervous you did something embarassing?
“I think growing up tryouts as a goalie was pretty difficult because it was you versus a couple of guys for only two positions on a team. You can’t slack off a bit because coaches are always watching. From a young age, it was pretty nervewracking. Moving from travel to AAA is probably the biggest step. You see kids who are really good and you can get intimidated but then you have to think and have confidence in yourself and in your own game. You deserve to go out there and really give it your all.”
What do you do to calm yourself down when you get nervous at a tryout?
“I actually try to think back to the positives and the basics. As a goaltender, you start thinking about making the first save and being in the correct position. Making sure you’re in the right position for the second save as well.”
Interview with Michael McKinley
Michael McKinley recently authored the book entitled Hockey: A People’s History
Michael was kind enough to answer some of my questions for Behind the Jersey and I’m pleased to share his answers with you.
1) Fans and members of the media usually give expansion teams in the warmer states (ie. Florida and California) a hard time. However, we’ve seen the rise of Anaheim and San Jose this season and our last two Cup winners are Tampa Bay and Carolina. Do you believe a team from California or the Sun Belt will win the Stanley Cup this year?
Perish the thought that a team from a region of the continent not blessed with natural ice should have a great hockey team! It’s always surprising to me when a California or Sun Belt hockey team gets grief for simply existing from the so-called purists. California has had pro hockey since the 1920s, there was a league in Florida in the late 1930s (the Tropical Hockey League lasted but a season, and though they had a team in Havana, all games were played in Miami), and pro hockey first hit Texas in 1941.
I think hockey fans in those markets are some of the best, as they really have to work to support their teams amidst all the other regional and national sporting priorities, and so you get passionate fans who love the game, love their teams, and more than rise to the occasion during the playoffs.
Speaking of which, I like Anaheim’s size and toughness, and when healthy, they are indeed one of the elite teams in the NHL. Carolina is out of the playoffs, but Tampa is in and watch out– teams that have to claw their way into the show retain that hunger in the first round, and especially if they’re recent Cup champs. As for the Ducks or San Jose, just making it into the Cup final could be a kind of victory because to get to the Dance, you have to get past Detroit.
2) Can you tell me about some of the history behind the Stanley Cup? Who was Lord Stanley? Why do you think it is the best trophy in all of professional sports?
Frederick Stanley (AKA Lord Stanley of Preston) was the Governor-General of Canada from 1888 to 1893. The Queen or King of England is the official head of state of Canada, and the Governor-General is their proxy, so Stanley was sent to what was then called the “Dominion of Canada†to represent Queen Victoria as head of state.
He was an aristocrat, the younger son of the 14th Earl of Derby, who had also been Prime Minister of England. Stanley had been a Member of Parliament himself, as well as an army officer, but at heart he was a gregarious sportsman who loved the vast potential of the new world—and he loved hockey, when he first clapped eyes on it at the Montreal Winter Carnival of 1889.
Soon, Stanley’s sons Arthur and Algernon were playing the game on a team called the Rideau Rebels, after Rideau Hall, the Governor-General’s official residence in Ottawa. His daughter Isobel played in the first recorded women’s hockey match in Ottawa 1891 (though she—and women –played well before that), and Stanley built himself a rink at Rideau Hall and was known to play as well—even on Sundays, which earned the wrath of pious editorial writers who said he was blaspheming the Sabbath.
Stanley owned shares in the Ottawa rink in which his favourite hockey team played, the Ottawa Hockey Club, and while he would have loved to see them win his “Dominion Challenge Trophyâ€, that was not why he gave the sport this extraordinary gift.
The idea of such a trophy had been mooted in Canadian journals in the early 1890s, and Stanley saw that hockey was indeed Canada’s “national winter sportâ€. Having traveled across Canada, he also saw a young country of huge size and sparse population that was a British dominion next door to much more populous and republican USA. He saw a challenge trophy as a way to express Canadian national identity and to unite a far-flung people through hockey by making it possible, for example, for a team from the Yukon to play a team from Ottawa (as happened in 1905) for what was soon known as the Stanley Cup.
Stanley also saw the widespread play of hockey as a way to keep young men of military service age in shape during the winter, since there were real fears that the US might try to expand its borders.
So the Stanley Cup has a rich history for its being, and a great irony at its core: Lord Stanley never saw a match played for his glorious trophy because he went back to England on the death of his older brother in July 1893 to become the 16th Earl of Derby. The first Stanley Cup was awarded a few months later.
To me, it’s the greatest sports trophy in the world not just because it’s the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, nor because you have to win sixteen games over a gruelling two month schedule to win it, but because what began as a nationalistic enterprise is now truly international—hockey players from all over the world can come together to compete for it and to win it, not as a nation, but as a team made up of different nationalities who for this season, prove it belongs to them.
3) You recently wrote the book Hockey: A People’s History. Why did you decide to write this book and how long did it take you to complete it?
I was invited to write the companion book to the CBC TV series “Hockey: A People’s Historyâ€, as well as the accompanying children’s book, “Ice Time: The Story of Hockey
I was inspired by the scope of the project, and the chance to tell as much of the story of this great sport as we could on both page and screen. I began writing in February 2005, and finished final edits in April 2006. I wasn’t writing the whole time, though, and it was very much a team project, as I benefited enormously from the research done for the TV series.
4) Teams like the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils have been at the top of the league for the past ten years. Why do you think some teams are able to maintain success for so long while others struggle to make the playoffs year after year?
Teams go through cycles, and one glance at the playoff picture shows many of them are going through the same cycle right now, a cycle which the NHL calls “parityâ€. That said, Detroit and New Jersey have remained at the top of the league for a good stretch of time, and while we don’t have the dynastic ‘80s when the Islanders and the Oilers owned the Cup, we do have teams who are consistently favoured to be in the Final.
This comes from a culture of winning created by smart management– and before the salary cap, lots of high-priced spending. From the highest reaches of management down to the goal net and through the farm systems, both organizations understand what they’re doing—though I have to asterisk that when it comes to New Jersey’s firing of coach Claude Julien on April 2. The Devils were, on his firing, in first place in the Atlantic Division and number two in the conference and had won four of their last five. Must be something in the New Jersey swamp water.
5) Do you have a favorite Stanley Cup story (ie. a unique place a player took it or something interesting that a player did with the Cup, etc.)?
The Stanley Cup has had many adventures (which is why I’d think twice about drinking champagne from it, even if alcohol is a disinfectant), and there are stories galore about its travels. It is also ripe with superstition, and NHL players believe that you do not touch it if you have yet to win it, or else you will spoil forever your chance of so doing. Which is why, when the management of the New York Rangers burned the paid up mortgage to Madison Square Garden in the bowl of the Cup in the 1940 after the Rangers had won it, hockey sages said the Rangers had cursed themselves by committing such profanity to the chalice. And they seemed to be right, for it took 54 years for the Rangers to lose that curse, when, in 1994, they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in one of the most exciting seven-game Stanley Cup finals in history.
6) With the arrival of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin last season, the NHL has started to market individual athletes in clever commercials such as the hotel one shown during the All-Star Game. Do you believe that the NHL is going in the right direction in terms of marketing? Why or why not?
The best marketing tool the NHL has is the sport itself, and if they take care of that (as they for the most part, have been, after that pathetic lock out), then the fan base will increase.
HD TV will help as well, as a common complaint from some sports fans is that, while they love watching hockey live in the rink, they can’t follow the puck on TV. Oddly enough, a 100 MPH fastball poses no such problem, so HD might enhance the architecture of the game for fans who feel TV doesn’t do it justice.
But in the end, promotion of the next generation of hockey talent such as Crosby and Ovechkin and the dancing Swedish Sedin twins—in the fun, self-mocking “it’s only a game†spirit in which it has been done –certainly helps to get the attention of the casual hockey fan. And what will keep that attention is a sport that allows those talented players to do what they do best, without fear of being carried off on a stretcher because of a dirty hit (see question #9).
7) Who is your favorite hockey player (current or retired)? Why?
I’m a big fan of Trevor Linden, the former captain of the Vancouver Canucks, who has been the face of the franchise more or less since 1988 (save for a three-year exile when he ran afoul of Mike Keenan). Linden is a guy who gives his all on the ice no matter what the circumstances, and is a community-spirited gentleman off it who has done so much work on behalf of children with life-threatening illnesses. And he has done it all with a quiet grace.
There are many NHLers like him, but since I live in Vancouver and have seen the effect he has had on this city, I salute him. Indeed, I just wrote a profile of him for Vancouver Magazine, which furthered my admiration of him, and you can read it (for free!) at http://www.vanmag.com/articles/07apr/Captainvancouver.shtml.
My favourite retired hockey players are the brothers Frank and Lester Patrick. The Patricks were hockey stars in eastern Canada who came west around 1910 to help their father with his lumber business in the forests of British Columbia. When he sold that business for nearly half a million dollars (a fortune at a time when $25,000 would get you a mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Vancouver), the brothers convinced him to invest his money in ice hockey on the Pacific Coast—a region not known for its natural ice. But the Patricks had played in St. Nick’s, the great artificial ice rink in New York City, and saw that BC had a population base to support a pro league, and so they built arenas and put teams in Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster (today a Vancouver suburb) and eventually, in Seattle and Portland and, so gave birth to the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
But they did much more than that: the brothers were great innovators, and from them and their Pacific league we get the invention of the blue line, the penalty shot, line substitutions, numbered jerseys, goalies being allowed to fall down to make saves (they could not, before the Patricks), and a playoff system. Among other things. We owe them much of the modern game.
Which team has surprised you the most this season (good or bad)?
The Edmonton Oilers. Ryan Smyth was the heart and soul of the Oilers, and when they traded him over what was essentially a salary pissing contest, the Oilers’ brain trust unravelled the team. Yes, pundits say the Oilers were weak on from the blue line in, and that the loss of Chris Pronger hurt them, but they still had that intangible connection to all those Stanley Cup banners hanging from the beams of the their barn—and a chance to take a run at another –when the trade deadline arrived.
They’ve won just one game since Smyth was sent to Long Island, and a proud franchise that was in the Finals last year, and whom I saw give the high flying Vancouver Canucks serious trouble a couple of weeks ago, was shot in the foot by its own management. And they can’t say this was a rebuilding move: the Oilers have been rebuilding since Gretzky left, and unless they pull a rabbit or two out of the hat this summer, they have sent their players and their fans a terrible message.
9) The debate over fighting and its place in the NHL has been discussed a lot this season. What role do you think fighting should have in the game and why? How has the role of fighting changed over the years from the days of the Broad Street Bullies to the present?
The role of fighting has “evolved†from an actual strategy to win games by intimidating opponents through systematic violence, as used by the Broad Street Bullies, to what those who support it call a kind of safety valve, one, allegedly, that makes those who attack or deliberately injure their opponents accountable in a way that the penalty box, or a fines and game suspension system does not.
You can see right there the flaw in the argument. If accountability is the issue, then it must first come from the players. Calgary’s Jarome Iginla recently made some interesting remarks in the National Post newspaper (Wednesday 21 March 2007) about cheap shot hits that lead to fighting when he responded to the idea that hockey is such a speedy sport that dirty hits are often accidents of that speed:
It’s not that fast. Guys know what they’re doing on 90-plus per cent of the hits…Some guys, if you’re leaned over, your head’s sticking out there, a lot of guys will pass that hit up. There are some guys though, who will take that [hit].
So, if players were forced to be accountable for their actions in a way other than fighting—either by being taught from the get go as kids that fighting belongs in boxing and some of these extreme sports, but not in hockey– and then, of being appropriately penalized for any kind of attempt to injure, the sport would not need this specious argument that it is violence that keeps violence from happening.
And if the moral argument doesn’t work, then show them the money. If I knew that starting a fight or engaging in one would cost me a five game suspension, and a five game loss of salary, with my team fined a prohibitive amount of money, I’d more than think twice about doing it. Same if I knew that smashing someone head first into the boards, or in the face with a stick, or with my knee on theirs, would earn me a term in the press box and cost me big bucks, I wouldn’t do it. And if the automatic suspension escalated each time a player transgressed, fighting would “evolve†out of hockey pretty damn quick. This is not a utopian ideal, either. You just need the “political will†among NHL owners to enact it, and I’m afraid that it will take the death of a player before they do.
On a personal note, I play in a rec league that bans fighting (and swearing and slap shots) and our games are no less intense or fun (and not as swift as the NHL, to be sure!). Yes, hockey is a fast game, and yes, it does hurt when you collide with someone whom you think has hit you in a dirty fashion, but that’s where the referees come in, as well as all those guys in Toronto who watch every NHL game played every night, live, on video monitors, looking for crimes. Goalies didn’t wear masks, once upon a time, and players didn’t wear helmets because it was “unmanlyâ€. Those days are gone, thank goodness, and prove the point that the only thing constant about this sport is that change, eventually, will happen. Let’s hope out of wisdom, and not necessity.
10) NHL players have resisted certain safety measures in the past like helmets and visors. Do you foresee the NHL requiring its players to wear visors? Why do you think the players have such a prejudice against the wearing of visors?
Again, visors are perceived by some as unmanly, and yet, if you’re a young player you wear the full cage. The problem is that you “graduate†from the cage to a visor as you move up the ranks, and then, once you play pro, to a helmet alone. Thus the visor is seen as rule inflicted upon you until you achieve professional freedom (or play in a beer league).
The official version is that players who have tried and rejected the visor say that they can’t see as well as they can without a visor, but again, if you grow up with a cage, and then a visor, and then must keep the visor when you play pro, that relativity argument will disappear. Junior hockey seems to be no less skilled and exciting because players wear visors. Also, goalies wear face protection, and who needs to see the puck and the play more than a goalie? I don’t hear them campaigning to remove their cages and face masks. Yet guys wearing just helmets drop down to block slapshots where the guys whose job it is to stop those slapshots wear full face masks. It’s crazy.
BTJ would like to thank Michael for taking the time out to answer these questions!
Post-deadline thoughts from Nill
I did an email interview with Detroit Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill. Most of his responses are being used for a different project, but the stuff regarding this season’s deadline, I wanted to post here. Sorry that I couldn’t get this to you guys right after the trade deadline, but Mr. Nill was over in Europe for about a week following the deadline and did not have internet access.
Nill on where the scouts and staff are during deadline…
“This year at the deadline we were in Chicago as Detroit played against Chicago that night.”
Nill on the Bertuzzi & Calder trades…
“We were very happy with both trades, they addressed our needs to adding size, toughness, and grit to our lineup, without sacrificing major changes to our lineup.”
If my “project” does not pan out, I will post the rest of his answers. If it does work, I will link you guys to it.
Interview with Adrian Dater
I did a brief email interview with Adrian Dater, the author of the book Blood Feud
Here’s what he had to say…
1) Do you know why you could order the book on Amazon.com before you could buy it in stores?
No, I don’t exactly know why. I know the original release date for the book was in November, and got moved back to January, because of some staffing issues at the publisher. The book was printed about a month and a half ago, and I guess they were able to ship some to Amazon, but not book stores.
2) Did you cut down on your duties as a reporter to focus on the book?
No, in fact it enhanced my job a bit. I was able to really get a lot of interviews for things that might have been tougher if I was saying I was just doing them for the paper. Don’t forget, I started this book during the lockout of ‘05, so I had some time to get started without much interruption!
3) Did you have any problems obtaining interviews with those critical to the rivalry?
Yes, Patrick Roy, for whatever reason, did not want to talk. He probably thought this was going to be some kind of critical book just on him or something, knowing him. Obviously, not having a lot of quotes from him is a weakness of the book, but quotes weren’t necessarily what the book was all about, and I thought I had a lot of detail about Patrick that was never published before. Marc Crawford also did not talk, and I could never line anything up with Yzerman.
4) How does it feel to have Scotty Bowman write the foreword for your book?
Very humbling. To me, he’s the best coach in sports history. That he wrote the intro to MY book is mind boggling to me.
Interview with Michael Sarner
I was recently able to conduct an email interview with Michael Sarner, the producer of the hockey documentary In the Crease. Here’s what he had to say:
1) How did you come up with the idea to follow a youth hockey team’s journey to US Nationals, much less a team from California?
As former hockey players, Matt and I realized nobody had ever really taken an inside look at youth hockey, so we set out to show the dedication, commitment and passion of the players and families to compete at the AAA level. Also, as kids we both dreamed of making it to Nationals and wanted to show kids around the country what the experience is all about.
2) Did the team struggle at all to act normally in front of the camera? Was it hard to shoot some of the action shots during practice and games?
Shooting was made so easy thanks to the unbelievable access given to us by the parents, players and coaches. Initially everyone was worried that the cameras would be a distraction, but at the same time they saw it as a great motivating tool for the players. Once Coach Lewis blew the whistle for the first ladder, the players realized they cameras are rolling and nobody wanted to get caught loafing it.
3) What were the NHL players reactions to this documentary or at least the concept of it? Did you have a hard time getting any of these players to take part?
NHL players are hands down the coolest, most down to earth and approachable athletes in all of sports. It was so easy to get them to sit down and talk to us. At the same time, I think it was refreshing for the players to talk about their childhood memories playing the game - before it became a job, before contract talks, free agency and revenue sharing. And they were so generous with their time. When we arrived at Mathieu Schneider’s home in Manhattan Beach, the house was empty. He has kids, so we thought his wife had taken them out so it would be quiet for the interview but then he tells us that his wife just gave birth the night before and was in the hospital. He came home just to keep the appointment! I mean how cool is that!
4) How long did it take you to complete this film from start to finish?
The whole process from start to finish was a year and half. We started filming the Wave immediately after they won the Pacific District and qualified for Nationals. We shot everyday for 4 weeks leading up to the tournament. Every practice. Every scrimmage. Even the off days. The cameras were on the ice and on the bench, in huddle and in the locker room. When the team wasn’t practicing or scrimmaging, we followed them home. The Wave mom’s fed us for the entire month of March. All together we shot 180 hours of footage and had to cut it down to 90 minutes.
5) Do you have any other projects in the works, particularly another hockey related film?
The making of IN THE CREASE has kept us really busy but we are now looking for another sport to capture. If there are any teams out there with a compelling story let us know at inthecrease@mac.com
6) I have read quite a few articles already about this documentary. Was it hard for you to generate press for the film and how did you go about generating interest in the DVD from consumers and the media?
The amount of interest generated in the film is a testament to the dedication and passion of the hockey community. Helene Elliott’s piece in the LA Times is a great example, as the former hockey editor of the Times, Helene loves anything hockey related. After watching the film, she understood what a powerful tool it can be in generating interest in youth hockey. And I cannot say enough about the great people at USA Hockey. They have been extremely influential in not only making the film happen, but reaching out to their fan base and creating awareness. The positive impact hockey has on the Wave players and families, should have every parent across the country lacing up their children’s skates.
Daly talks about fighting & the schedule
I sent an email off to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in hopes to obtain an email interview to use in my English paper, which is about fighting in the NHL. I was pleasantly surprised to get an email back, much less within 12 hours. Here are my five questions and his answers…
1) Do you believe that fighting has a role and a purpose in the game? If so, what would you say it is?
I think fighting is part of the game — although not a part that is in any way encouraged. “Fighting” is going to happen regardless of what our rules are, so there is no such thing as “banning” or “eliminating ” fighting in the game. The only issue is how severely it is penalized. Obviously, a game misconduct and and possible suspension is a more “severe” penalty than we currently employ. But our existing rules do necessarily, in fact, discourage and penalize fighting.
2) Would you support a ban on fighting in the NHL or do you even foresee a ban in the future as a possibility?
At the current time, we believe the sanctions we apply to individuals who engage in on-ice fights are appropriate, and those sanctions are not presently the subject of review.
3) Do you think it’s fair that some individuals attribute the decline in attendance to the decline of “passion” shown in the game, some of which can be seen through fighting?
I’m not sure I can agree with the characterization that there has been a “decline” in attendance. Last year we broke our all-time record for League-wide attendance. This year’s attendance, while down from last year, is up from any other year during our history. So attendance has never been better. I don’t think you can draw any correlation between our recent attendance records and the incidence of fighting in the game. And I don’t agree that there is any less “passion” in the game than there used to be.
4) Others believe that a ban on fighting would open up the sport to more fans and increase the chance of a better TV deal. What’s your opinion on these type of comments?
Obviously, if we felt that our current penalties for fighting could be changed in such a way as to increase the appeal of hockey to the public we would change them. We don’t believe that to be the case.
5) The Globe and Mail reported that the BOG was one vote shy of changing the schedule from 8 to 6 divisional games in next year’s schedule. Do you see any chance of the schedule changing for next season if the BOG meets again or will the schedule stay put for at least next season?
Finally, I wouldn’t rule out a change in the schedule matrix for next year. I think the matter is likely to be reported on again at our Board of Governors meeting on January 23.
I would like to thank Bill Daly for answering a college student’s questions and I promise to post my English paper to Kukla’s Korner first and later to BtJ for archive purposes.
Kris Draper observational interview
For my English 125 class (aka freshman english), I had to write a one to two page “essay” as an observational interview. This assignment really isn’t graded, just check plus, check, or check minus. Anyways, I was allowed to use my previous interview with Kris Draper, which you can read here, that I did in November 2003 for this assignment. As such, the essay I turned in is as follows…The Essay
Anne Marie Krappmann, the Detroit Red Wings’ community relations manager, has just informed me that I’ll be interviewing center Kris Draper following the team’s morning practice. My eyes wander down the hall passing over walls listing Detroit’s ten Stanley Cup wins and previous NHL award winners as I anxiously wait outside the locker room. Each time the locker room door opens, my heart skips a beat as I see players like captain Steve Yzerman, Darren McCarty, and Henrik Zetteberg walk past me into the adjacent room behind a bright red door. Finally the moment arrives, Draper emerges from the locker room wearing a casual sweater and jeans looking fresh from his recent shower following a strenuous practice and time spent talking to the media. After we introduce ourselves, he guides me into the room beyond the red door. My eyes widen in amazement at the sight of a restaurant setting with Wings’ photos galore and numerous players sitting in the back eating lunch. We sit down close to the door where the interview begins.
Draper appears confident, which is undoubtedly from his experience as the Wings’ go to guy for the Detroit media, and seems eager to answer my questions. He’s been playing professional hockey in Hockeytown since 1993 providing plenty of time for various nicknames to crop up. Most commonly, this 34-year-old redhead is referred to as Drapes, but occasionally teammates will call him Spike in reference to “the little dog who doesn’t stop, the little bulldog who keeps going.†Whether it’s killing the penalty on the ice, playing with his two kids at home, or cheering up a team grouch at practice, Draper always works hard to achieve his very best like his nickname infers.
Like many athletes, specifically hockey players, Draper is a very superstitious individual. His pregame routine is closely followed to prevent any potential mishaps on the ice. During the current NHL season, Draper wasn’t performing offensively like he had before the lockout so he made everyone move their locker room stalls back to the previous arrangement. Consequently, he scored a goal that night. A typical game day starts after Draper drops off his daughter Kennedi at school. He drives to Sonny’s Restaurant where he orders egg white omelets if the team won their last game. A recent loss results in an order of oatmeal. Following breakfast, Draper attends a half-hour long pregame skate to loosen up and prepare his sticks for the game that’s later in the evening. He promptly heads home to eat a home cooked meal and play with his son and daughter. An efficient nap re-energizes his body for the game as does a stop by Tim Horton’s where he orders a coffee and chocolate chip muffin because “that’s my lucky muffin.†Draper arrives at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit about two and a half hours before the game to warm up, stretch, and make sure all final preparations have been made. Once the game is over, the players and their wives will go out for dinner. However, the team often has to head for the airport following the game to fly to their next game’s location. But Draper finds it hard to complain about the busy schedules and late nights because “it’s something that I’ve wanted to do ever since I learned how to skate and knew what hockey was.â€
When Draper isn’t at Joe Louis Arena or on a road trip, he’s at home with his wife, Julie, and two kids, Kennedi and Kienan. He loves the summer when the NHL is in its off-season because the Toronto native can devote all his time and attention to his family in his hometown. Draper explained to me the challenges of being a father as an NHL player, “During the season there are some stretches when it gets pretty tough; you’re away from your kids on road trips and the kids are wondering when Daddy is coming home.†Between training camp, 82 games during the regular season, and a potential for 28 playoff games, the NHL schedule can place a lot of pressure on a family. Draper quickly admits that his wife makes plenty of sacrifices for the family to function, “Every guy here is lucky to have a wife to take care of the kids and kids that understand that Daddy has to go to sleep or Daddy has to go play hockey.â€
In his NHL career, Draper has gotten his name on the coveted Stanley Cup three times in 1997, 1998, and 2002 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Each victory has been memorable for its own reason. The first Cup win because Detroit hadn’t won in 42 years and the city was ecstatic to have the Cup back in its grasp. The second victory was special because it was a very inspirational victory after one of the Wings defenseman and staff member were seriously injured in a limo accident in the previous year. However in 2002, Draper was married and had both kids at that point in time so he was able to do little things he had been unable to do in previous wins like placing Kienan in the Stanley Cup and eating “Fruit Loops out of the Stanley Cup with my daughter.â€
Draper understands how fortunate he is at this point in his life, “Everyday I get to come down here [Joe Louis Arena]. I’m a Detroit Red Wing and I’ve won three Stanley Cups and everything in hockey is just going really good now.†Draper realizes his good fortune and does what he can to help the local community. He is the spokesman for D.A.R.E. and after the 2002 Stanley Cup win, he brought the Stanley Cup to Children’s Hospital in Detroit. When the hospital asked Draper to bring in the Cup, it was an easy decision for him to make. “You know as we wake up in the morning, while you guys go to school and I go play hockey; these parents go to the hospital everyday to visit their kids…Being as fortunate as I am and to go in there and see all the sicknesses and illnesses and be able to put a smile on a kid’s face and make kids forget about their illnesses for even just ten minutes; you know you’ve done something good. It’s very rewarding to go in there and do that,†Draper explained to me.
While the interview lasted nearly 30 minutes, the moment went by too quick. Before that morning in Joe Louis Arena, Draper was a speedy center who won three Stanley Cups and proudly represented the Detroit Red Wings. Following the interview, he became an individual who was extremely passionate about his hockey and who, above all else, deeply cared for his family. I left the arena with a newfound respect and admiration for the hockey player everyone calls Drapes.
Interview with Jim Nill
This interview was not conducted in person, but through email instead. Mr. Nill has played on numerous professional hockey teams, including the Red Wings, before becoming the Wings’ assistant general manager.
Christy: What do you find as the most rewarding aspect of your job? The most challenging?
Nill: The most rewarding aspect of my job is having the opportunity to see the next stars that will someday play in the NHL. With my job I am able to see these players when they are 16-17 years of age and I know that someday they will be playing somewhere in the NHL. It’s a great challenge to scout and recruit the next players for the Detroit Red Wings organization. Due to our success as a franchise we are always selecting low in the draft where it is harder to find players, but it is a great challenge to find the next “diamond in the rough”.
Christy: How much of a change was it to go from a job being a professional player to scouting for future prospects?
Nill: During my 12 years of professional hockey I played for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Winnipeg Jets, and Vancouver Canucks. It was a huge change to go from playing to scouting. As a player you were always looking at players who were 20 to 35 years of age. In the scouting business you are looking at young men who are 16-17 years of age. Some have developed physicall and mentally, others have not, so you must try to project what they will develop into when they are 20-30 years of age. You are dealing with human beings and it is not always easy to figure people out. All different factors can affect their development, ie.. money, school, friends, family, outside influences, their commitment and drive, etc… It is not an exact science to figure out people.
Christy: Pavel Datsyuk seems to have really stepped up this year following Sergei’s leave. Who was it that ‘found’ Datsyuk? Did you have any role in his discovery?
Nill: Hakan Andersson, our European scout was the first person to see Pavel. I was the person who drafted him and then I worked on his development after we drafted Pavel.
Christy: What made them think Pavel was so special when other teams passed him up?
Nill: Pavel had very good skills, but was very small and weak. When we drafted him he was 5′8″ and about 145 pounds soaking wet. We liked his skills, but did not know if he would every grow enough and/or get strong enough to play in the NHL. As we can all see now he did develop.
Christy: Has Pavel met or exceeded the team’s expectations? Is he a big surprise?
Nill: Pavel has exceeded our expectations, When we brought him over to play 2 years ago we knew he could play in the NHL, but we did not expect him to reach this level of stardom so quickly.
Christy: After deciding that you would like to see a certain player (like Datsyuk) play for the Wings, what process or steps do you follow to get him on the team?
Nill: Once we have drafted the player we monitor his development wherever he is playing. We analyze whether he is in a good environment to develop and monitor his progress. We watch the level of competition he is playing at, watch his strength development, and talk with the player to see if it is better for him to remain in his home environment or should he be somewhere else. There are all different factors to take into consideration. Once we feel that he is mature enough physically and mentally we must determine if he is able to play at either the AHL level (Grand Rapids) or do we feel he can step right into playing for Detroit Red Wings. The final piece of the puzzle is to get him signed to a contract.
Christy: If you had to define your job and role in the Wings organization in a few sentences, what would they be?
Nill: My job description is being in charge of all drafting and developing of players for the Detroit Red Wings. To continue the success of our franchise we must have a steady influx of young players developing in our system at all times.
Christy: How often do you go on scouting trips in lets say a months time? How do you balance work and family?
Nill: I am at a hockey game 5 nights out of 7 during every week from October to May. I travel to Europe 5-6 times a year for a week to 10 days at a time. I am fortunate that I make my own schedule so I am always around for any family function. Also I live in a great hockey location, there is every level of hockey around the Michigan area which allows me to be home every night. I am also very fortunate that I have a great family who can tolerate my travels and they are very indepedent.
Interview with Kris Draper
Christy: So you’ve won three Stanley Cups was there one more memorable than the others?
Draper: “Probably the first one because it had been like 42 years since we had won one. The city was obviously really looking to have a Stanley Cup Champion back in the city so that was pretty exciting. The second one was special after the Vladimir and Sergei accident because it was a very inspirational victory. Especially when Stevie presented Vlady with the Stanley Cup because that is something you’re never going to forget as a professional athlete. The third one was special for me because I was married and had two kids by then so I put my son in the Stanley Cup and I ate fruit loops out of the Stanley Cup with my daughter. Just the little things like that was special since I hadn’t been able to do with the first win. Anytime you win the Stanley Cup its special, its just that each one has its own special memories.â€
Christy: How do you balance family and work?
Draper: “I don’t…my wife does. That is the key. I love summers since I can hang out with my wife and kids and everything is family-orientated. During the season there are some stretches when it gets pretty tough; you’re away from your kids on road trips and the kids are wondering when Daddy is coming home and those kind of things. My daughter is 3 and a half so she kind of understands the going away on a road trip. But now everytime my son sees me go away, he’s wondering when Daddy is coming back and that type of thing. So that’s tough, but the one who takes the brunt of it is my wife. Every guy here is lucky to have a wife to take care of the kids and kids that understand that Daddy has to go to sleep or Daddy has to go play hockey. My wife realizes the sacrifices I make to play hockey and she makes a lot of sacrifices to make sure everything works out as a family.â€
Christy: What would you describe the feeling you had when you have the victory parade in Detroit since there were around a million people there?
Draper: “For the first year, I don’t think the city realized how big it was going to be. I was out the night before the parade for the Stanley Cup party; it was very early in the morning when I was heading on my way home and we stopped by the Spirit of Detroit and brought the Stanley Cup out to take some pictures. There were people at 5:30/6:00 in the morning lining up for that parade. And here I come with the Stanley Cup, and people were so excited for the parade and then to see the Stanley Cup. It was pretty neat like all of a sudden you’d get in a car and drive on Woodward all the way to Hart Plaza and there is close to a million people there who were so excited to be a part of the Stanley Cup win and parade. It was unbelievable and like I said the city didn’t realize how big it was going to be and us, as players, never had been involved in something like that and we didn’t realize how big it was going to be and it just turned out to be a tremendous day.â€
Christy: So you brought the Stanley Cup to Children’s Hospital after the win in 2002. Why did you decide to bring in there over anywhere else?
Draper: “Obviously, I’ve been very fortunately not only healthy as a person but as a professional athlete as well. And to give the opportunity to kids who are sick or wouldn’t be able to come out see the Stanley Cup in public because of their illness, it was an opportunity that came and they asked me if I wanted to bring the Stanley Cup to Children’s Hospital. And for me to be able to do something like that, it was easy. I was like ‘Absolutely, no matter what day or time or how long I have to be there for. So I went there and I guess I spent a couple of hours with kids who were less fortunate than I was. And just to see the expressions that these kids had, and not only the kids, but also the kids’ parents because the parents go through this everyday. You know as we wake up in the morning, while you guys go to school and I go play hockey; these parents go to the hospital everyday to visit their kids. To have an opportunity like this and to give it back to the community and to the children, it was tough there. Being as fortunate as I am and to go in there and see all the sicknesses and illnesses and be able to put a smile on a kid’s face and if you have the opportunity to make kids forget about their illnesses for even just 10 minutes; you know you’ve done something good. It’s very rewarding to go in there and to do that. Like the Stanley Cup was bigger than some of the kids, it was pretty neat. And they saw it and couldn’t believe how big it was and so it was pretty good. We put a couple of not newborn but like 1-year-old kids in the Cup. The parents asked ‘if my son or daughter could sit in the Stanley Cup’ and I would hold the kids and the parents would take pictures. It was a special day.â€
Christy: Think back to your high school years, what was your favorite activity to do outside of school like on the weekends?
Draper: “Well, luckily I was in a lot of sports and I think that was my parents’ idea to keep me out of trouble. But I mean like any teenager, I loved going out with my friends. You’d do whatever you’d do and obviously sometimes you’d find trouble and other times you’d stay out of trouble. I always enjoyed going to the movies and that kind of stuff. But I would have hockey on the weekends with usually a Friday night or Saturday night game and practices as well so that was probably the busiest time for me. And that’s what I loved and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to be surrounded by hockey and I was able to do that by playing high school hockey and then also by playing in a different league as well. Everything was busy with hockey.â€
Christy: Did you do any other sports in high school or was it just hockey?
Draper: “Yeah, I started out playing football but the seasons overlapped so my schoolwork suffered. I was alright with it but my dad wasn’t. Obviously, it was a no brainer at what sport I was going to pick. Yeah I enjoyed playing football but hockey was something I wanted to do at any opportunity that I had. But then during the summer time, I played golf and tennis and those kind of activities but mostly especially during the winter it was hockey.â€
Christy: Who is your roommate?
Draper: “I room with Darren McCarty.â€
C: I bet there are some pretty interesting stories there.
D: “Yeah, we had some good times.â€
C: Any one story you’d like to share with us?
D: “Let’s see, well the funny thing is you always get in the room (hotel room) and its always who gets what bed. With Darren and I, if we’re winning then he’ll have the bed closest to when you walk in the room and I’ll have the window bed. And if we lose, we’ll switch it up. We’ll always argue for the remote. Darren’s the kind of guy who has a lot of stuff going on. He’ll be on his computer, talking on his cell phone, and he still thinks he can watch whatever program on TV that he wants. While I’m just sitting there and I’m like pass me the remote. So we kind of have little arguments like that. The time factor like when you want to go to sleep; he’s the kind of guy who can watch TV all night and not have a problem. Whereas I like sleep, I enjoy sleep time and I’ll get up at 4 or 5 in the morning and sure enough the TV will still be on and I’ll try to look for the remote and the remote would be somewhere in Darren’s bed and I really wouldn’t want to go look for it at 4 or 5 in the morning. But usually on the road, you’ll get 10-14 guys going out for dinner and then after that some of the guys will go to the movies so it’s a good time to hang out with your teammates. Its not fun being away from home but everyone does things together which makes it more fun.â€
Christy: As I was watching your practice, I noticed that you seem to be the jokester of the group. Are you known as the jokester or do people have other nicknames for you?
Dave Lewis: “Oh, we have lots of nicknames for him. Did he tell you about his great goal the other night?”
Draper: “Which one?”
C: The shorthanded one?
D: “Yeah probably. A lot of guys call me Drapes or Nails.”
C: Why Nails?
D: “Oh, the whole tough as nails kind of deal. Ray Whitney calls me Spike – the little dog who doesn’t stop, the little bulldog who keeps going. So like I said, I realize how fortunate I am doing what I’m doing; its something that I’ve wanted to do ever since I learned how to skate and knew what hockey was. You know, I’m going to come to the rink everyday and work hard when I have to but I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it. Sometimes guys are know whatever, like in grumpy moods or grouchy but I make sure I’m much more chipper and kind of bug them as much as I can to get them in good moods. So its fun that way, myself and Kirk Maltby – we have a lot of energy and we love to kind of fool around out there and have fun but the bottom line is, when you have to work – you work and when you can have fun, you have fun. I’m just fortunate. Everyday I get to come down here. I’m a Detroit Red Wing and I’ve won three Stanley Cups and everything in hockey is just going really good now.”
C: Was it Holmstrom or Maltby that missed that great pass and then you guys gave him a hard time about it just like any high school team I know?
D: “I’m not sure but that’s all we are. And we’re lucky to be able to do that, we’re in a winning environment and we’re expected to do well. When things aren’t going well, its turns into a bit of a business especially in this city since the expectations are so high. And we place those expectations on ourselves as well. It’s a good thing and right now we’re on a bit of a winning streak and things are good. But when we’re not winning and playing as well – its more like a business atmosphere and that’s how it should be. You have to realize when its time to have fun and when you need to buckle down and get to work. You know everyone goes out and practices hard, we all have the expectations that we want to go out and win night in and night out – that’s what is fun, to be able to go out and do that. I realize how lucky we are. Some guys come from different teams and organizations who go to the rink everyday but aren’t expected to win hockey games whereas here everyday we go to the rink and have that chance to win the hockey game.”
Christy: What is your pregame routine like? For example, tomorrow night you have a game what do you do between the time that you wake up and the time that the puck drops to initiate the game?
Draper: “I’ll wake up in the morning…you know it’s different now that my daughter is in school. Tomorrow, I’ll drive my daughter to school and usually I’ll try to go to my little restaurant, its called Sunny’s Restaurant for breakfast every morning. Depending on if we’re winning or not, it depends on what I eat. So we’re winning right now so I’ll eat egg white omelets. If we lose, I have to switch what I eat and have oatmeal. It is a little superstition that I have. Then I just drive down to the rink for our pregame skate for like half an hour where we skate and just loosen up. It’s just like a crammed in practice, you get the goalie shots and get your sticks ready for the game. Afterwards, I usually eat at home. My wife cooks a pregame meal for me at home so I hang out with my daughter, Kennedy, and my son, Keenan. Then its time for a nap, like I told you – sleep is very important to me. I usually sleep from about 2 o’clock in the afternoon to 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I’ll get up and then go get my coffee at Tim Horton’s and a muffin, chocolate chip muffin – that’s my lucky muffin. And then I’ll drive down to the rink and I like to get to the rink about 2 and a half hours before the game. Usually I’ll get my sticks ready, do some stretches, and make sure I’m warmed up and ready to go. Half an hour before the game, we go up for warm-up and then its game time.â€
Christy: Do you do anything after the game like if you win or does everyone just go home?
Draper: “It depends on the schedule. If we have an opportunity, we’ll grab our wives and go out to dinner. Like right after tomorrow night’s game we have to leave to head out on the road for our game the following day. Usually if we don’t play for a couple of days or have the night off we’ll go up for dinner. But usually by the time we get out of the rink its 11:30 or 12 o’clock already so you might just grab something to eat and then head home.â€