Several colleagues and associates of Tortorella in Tampa share their lasting memories and anecdotes of the Stanley Cup winning coach…

Erik Erlendsson, Tampa Tribune: “Getting off the bus in Philly before game three. They lost 6-2 in game two. That was the game where Tortorella came out with the famous, ‘Shut your yap’ to Ken Hitchcock, this whole Hitchcock against Tortorella thing began to take on a life of it’s own. It was amazing to watch. Because when the bus goes off in Philly, you’re down below and there’s fans up on the upper level. Well, it was just jan-packed, five people deep as the team bus rolls in.

“Normally the Philly fans are going to jeer the players getting off the bus. One by one the players come off the bus – you don’t hear a peep out of the fans. Not a peep.. Soon as Tortorella walks off the bus, ‘SHUT YOUR YAP!!! SHUT YOUR YAP!!! [smiles]. It was one of the mindgames that Torts likes to play, where he deflects attention from his team and put it on himself. And it worked to perfection. And you could see it. For the Philly fans to leave the players alone when they came off the bus – to direct all their attention is exactly what he wanted. Perfectly timed, perfectly well executed plan. So that was obviously a key moment during their Cup run in ‘04. That was some of the stuff Torts liked to do.”

Scott Audette, Tampa Bay Lightning team photographer: “I love the guy. When the Lightning first named him as head coach, the Lightning had a charity golf tournament. The first time he saw an alligator he begged me to come over and take a picture of the alligator on the golf course. He was so excited about seeing an alligator for the first time. We took the picture, made a huge print for his office. And after that, he and I were tight. He always stood up for me after that, took care of me.

“Torts held everybody accountable, nobody was above the law. Some people weren’t happy but the team worked hard. Vincent Lecavalier played his best under Torts. And the charitable stuff he did was amazing. To see the real Torts is to see him when he’s with the kids. Then you see him let his guard down. That’s his soft spot – the kids.

“Another memory about Torts is he allowed me to be the first team photographer let into the locker room for the Stanley Cup Finals. Torts came to us right before the Cup round started, or the day before the first game. Torts told one of the equipment guys who is now in Pittsburgh, that he thought it was gonna be something special, whether we win or lose. He knew he wanted the guys to have some sort of special keepsake from the Cup round. So I spent – between shooting the games, when things would happen or guys were hurt or whatever the case – I’d have to run down to the locker room or the training room when guys are getting stitched up. From shooting Ruslan Fedotenko seconds after he came off the ice with a concussion – he didn’t know where he was. To game seven when Marty St-Louis is getting his face stiched up and Andre Roy is standing over him and pouring a beer into his mouth while he’s celebrating.

“Torts had the insight to doing it. And that turned out great. It ended up benefitting a lot of people. We did a museum show out of it for charity, a book – the players had their own private book with a quarter-of-an-inch aluminum cover, hand-made in Italy. Torts knew that it was going to be important to them later in life when hockey wasn’t there any more.”

Bobby Taylor, Lightning TV analyst: “Torts, to me, as volatile and passionate as he was and how sometimes he would say things out of the passion of the moment, never let his heart overrule his head. To me, that was the one quality that I was so impressed with. You know how a lot of coaches say, Okay guys, you’re gonna have a day off tomorrow. And if the team played poorly – You’re not getting the day off tomorrow! We’re gonna skate you like crazy! Torts never did that. He had a plan that he went through. It was through the whole year. He stuck with that plan. And there’s times that I know that he wanted to give these guys a lot [smiles]. And he never did that.

“And to me, I think as passionate as a guy that he is and as outspoken as a person that he is, that was the one thing that people don’t understand. He never lets this thing (points to his heart) overrule this thing (points to his head). And he, to me, he, that was incredible for me. And you always knew the truth with Torts. He never, he never talked out of the side of his mouth to you. He told you what he thought and what he felt. And in the long run, I think that’s what everybody wants. They want people to tell them the truth. They may not like it at the start, but after a while, they’ll say, You know what, he’s right. And that was the biggest thing for me about John Tortorella. He was a what you see is what you get. And that is such a quality that we don’t see too often.”

Damian Cristodero, St. Pete Times: “We were in New York, they were playing the Rangers. It was really funny. John Tortorella had a thing about the training room. We were not allowed anywhere near the training room. Couldn’t look in, couldn’t do anything. Against the Rangers Nik Khabibulin had an unbelievable game. But Khabibulin sweats a lot, so after the game he’s taking intravenous. So he’s in the training room. He’s the story of the game. He played an incredible game. So we’re waiting to talk to Nik. Finally, the team goes to the bus. I’m standing in the locker room with one of the PR guys. The PR guy goes, Eh, poke your head in there. Tortorella’s on the bus, it doesn’t matter. So I go around to the training room, I poke my head and look for Nik and, sure enough, Nik’s there. And like a GHOST, Tortorella pops up out of nowhere and he’s like, WHAT THE F ARE YOU DOING IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM!! And he’s just screaming at me for five minutes. And it’s just incredible. Just like we didn’t even know he’s around. It was great. And we laugh about it now, to this day. It was just really funny.”

Tom Gilbert, TampaBayLightning.com: “He got mad at a few of the writers a few times. I remember he said, ‘You saw the F’n game, write what you want. I got a flight I gotta catch right now. Good night [smiles]. Torts is a great human being. I know him on and off the ice. What he did off the ice for this community is fantastic. He had the John Tortorella Fishing Tournament, he would take underpriviliged kids fishing. He loved kids, he loved the community. I talked with him when he came back here around Thanksgiving, he said, ‘Tommy, my heart’s still here in Tampa. I still love the Tampa Bay Lightning.”

Mike Corcoran, Lightning fan: “It was after a game at the Nassau Coliseum in January 2007. It was a typical cold northeast winter day, raining outside. And Tortorella came out there after the game and he stood there – out in the rain, standing in the rain, no umbrella – for probably 30-45 minutes signing autographs for everybody. And answering any question, all the kids, he gave an answer to everybody. It was strange because I heard all the stories about him being rude to people. But he was the complete, polar opposite of how he’s portrayed sometimes. That surprised me, I didn’t expect that. That’s one of the things I always remember about him – how he stood there.”

Mark Didtler, Associated Press: “What I remember about Torts is not so much his success on the ice but how much he did in the community. He was a very civic-minded person though he didn’t blow his own horn about it. As we all know, he can be testy with some of his players or the media. As fiery and tough as he seems, he did have a real soft side. The other thing was, obviously he had his problems with Lecavalier but he turned Lecavalier into a player that one year to help them win the Stanley Cup. He was a great motivator. And sometimes he was a pain to deal with. But at least you knew where you stood with him. If he was upset with you, he let you know, as a reporter or a player. He brought a certain attitude here. The team believed they could win – and that’s so important. He had all the pieces together that one year. And it was a magical year where everything fell into place for them in the playoffs. And they took advantage of it.”

“Maybe that’s the problem with the Rangers, his style is not the perfect style for the players that they have. It’s tough to be a hard-nosed coach anymore in this league. Or all sports. It’s changed over time. When he first came here, no one thought the team would ever be a contender. Because of all the down years, from like ‘96-97 losing like 50 games every year. He worked with with Jay Feaster the general manager. They brought in some good players and he was able to utilize those players. But if you would have asked anybody in press row, when he first took over for Steve Ludzik, that within a few years they’d be a Stanley Cup champ – no way. They’d be lying. Everybody was prepared for another guy that might be here two, three years, and then another 50-loss season to bring in the next candidate. It was stunning that they were able to do it in such a short amount of time.”

Eric Erlendsson, Tampa Tribune: “The team hadn’t made the playoffs since ‘96. It’s 2002, the franchise was really struggling, drawing flies for games. They were winning 16-17 games a year. And one of the things he really wanted to do was change the culture around here. It was early in the season, October, getting ready to go on a long road trip. And they lose to Florida 5-0. This was before we knew John Tortorella as the intense head coach that he is. And me, being my first year on the beat, didn’t bring my recorder down to the post-game press conference. And he goes off on his team: IT HAS TO CHANGE. THE CULTURE HAS TO CHANGE. He’s pounding the table. All kinds of words that can’t be published in a family newspaper. But it was one of those moments where you got to see how much he cared about winning and how much he wanted to change what had been really, for six years, a bottom-based team. For him to come out as strongly as he did and really call out his team – that was a pretty good turning point where players, fans and pretty much the media started to understand exactly how high-tempo of a coach he was.”

John Tortorella.

DOB: Feb. 20, 1942 In: Sault St. Marie, Ont.

Early Hockey Memory: “What I really liked the best was when I played juvenile, which was about 16 or 17. It was the last time I played where I never got paid and we won an all-Canadian championship and I was captain of the team. It was just a tremendous thing I’ll never forget. That was just unbelievable.”

Nicknames: “Espo. Shoot, man, I’ve been called Espo my whole life. I’ve been called Skinny when I was a kid. Now I’m called Chubby (laughs).”

Hockey Heroes/Inspirations: “Gordie Howe was one. Mickey Mantle in baseball – he’s why I wore No. 7 in hockey. Rocky Marciano in boxing.”

Favorite Movie: “Godfather, I love that movie. I love One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. And any, I mean any comedy. And I love the old movies – AMC. I like watching those: Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello. The more I watch them, there’s always something that I miss, a line here, a line there. My wife looks at me, ‘You’ve seen that movie.’ I say, ‘Yeah, but there was a line I missed.’ Those are my favorites.”

Musical Tastes: “I do not like the hard rock or the rap. I do not like that at all. Even when I was a kid I didn’t like The Beatles and they were in my era. I hated The Rolling Stones. People think I’m like sacrilegious. Grateful Dead – I hated them. I guess I should have been living in the ‘40s and ‘50s because I love (Frank) Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como love songs, ‘It’s Impossible.’ That’s my favorite. Still is.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Golf. I really try hard at golf. I don’t seem to be getting any better at it, to tell you the truth (laughs). I do a lot of charity stuff.”

First Job: “Watering slag to keep the dust down at the steel mill.”

Favorite Meal: “I’m a steak and potatoes man.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “As an individual? On a team was winning my first Stanley Cup. That was just amazing, Boston, 1970. As a kid growing up, that’s all you ever wanted was to win a Stanley Cup. Even when you made the NHL, it was to win that Stanley Cup. When Bobby Orr scored that overtime goal to beat St. Louis (in four games). We were going to beat them, there was no doubt in our minds. We were up three games to none. And we just didn’t want to go back to St. Louis for the fifth game because they had no business in the business with us. We were just so much better than them.”

Most Painful Moment: “Painful? When I got traded from Boston to New York. It was a total shock and very painful for me.”

Pre-game Feeling: “I was a guy fooling around and joking. I was a jokester so I didn’t really get nervous before the game. Didn’t bother me one way or another, I was ready to go out and play. I hated getting to the rink real, real early. That was stupid. The game was at 7:30, you had to be there at 5:30 – that was stupid. It takes me 20 minutes to get dressed! That’s the way I was. Bobby Orr, for example, went to the rink at 3:00 in the afternoon! He played gin with the trainer ‘til the guys came in. Me, I was sleeping then.”

Funny Hockey Memory: “Bobby Orr cut my socks once in Pittsburgh. Kept pulling them up, pulling them up and they ended up on my thigh because there was no button. And it was cold that night, god it was cold. I put shaving cream in guys’ skates or in his bed. Or short-sheet the bed. So when he gets in he almost breaks his legs trying to get in. You get in, go to put your legs up right away. And you can’t do it. Everybody goes, ‘What the?’ You’re trying to push it, push it. I remember doing that to Mike Walton. I thought he was gonna die. And he was a neat freak. So we’d mess his clothes up and he’d get really pissed (laughs).”

Strangest Game(s): “Playing in Russia in ‘72. We did some crazy things over there. We were told by the FBI and mounted police that the rooms would be bugged. And they were. Don’t forget, this is ‘72, the Cold War. It was so weird over there. I can’t explain it. They’d phone us at the hotel room at 3 a.m. to wake us up a night before the game. You’d pull the phone out of the wall and they’d come up and fix the damn thing at 4 a.m. Try to get someone to do that here. So things like that were the things that drove me crazy. We won the series there. They beat us in Canada and then we ended up beating the s— out of them. We won three in a row in Russia. First game in Russia we lost 6-5, then we won three in a row. I’m really convinced if we’d played another five or six games with them, they wouldn’t have beat us. I really believe that because we had really become a team. Training camp was hilarious, we were so bad; we were so out of shape.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge, Bobby Orr, Ronnie Greschner, I really like ‘Gresch.’ He became a real good friend of mine.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Eddie Shack. There’s nobody like Eddie Shack. The nuttiest human being I ever knew. The very first time I ever met him he was walking into the dressing room – we had both got traded to Boston at the same time. And he’s walking into the dressing room – he’s got the skates over his shoulder with the hockey sticks, singing, ‘Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go!’ And I’ll never forget that as long as I live. Wayne Cashman was funny too, in a different way. Gerry Cheevers had maybe the best sense of humor I ever saw. Sharp as a tack.”

Toughest Competitor: “John Ferguson. Man, he was a fierce competitor. He hated losing, you could see it. Man! Even when he became the GM and coach in New York he punched the s— out of me in the back when we were losing a game. Pow! He nailed me hard too. God. On the bench! He punched me right here in the middle of the back. Took my breath away.”

Worst Injury: “My knee. I had reconstructive surgery on my right knee in 1973. The doctors told me I’d probably never play again and walk with a limp for the rest of my life. And I tell him, ‘You’re full of s—. I’ll be back in training camp.’ I got the operation in April. I skated for the first time Aug. 28 and my leg felt like it was gonna fall off. It was like, loose. I played my first pre-season game Sept. 27 against the Chicago Blackhawks and scored three goals against my brother. I ended up winning the scoring championship and the MVP that year. Got hit by a hip check by Ronnie Harris with the Rangers. Got me with a hip, didn’t see him coming. He nailed me good.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “I love going to the Caribbean, but I live in Florida now. Just anywhere, laying out and drinking a few beers, reading a book. I mean, I love that. That’s what I like. Then going and getting dressed up and going to dinner at night, dancing and just having a great time with my lady.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “Loyalty. I love a loyal person. I like an honest person. I’m the type of person, if I shake hands with someone, it’s a done deal.”

Career Accomplishments: Elected to Hall of Fame in 1984; Won two Stanley Cups; Played in 10 All-Star Games; Won five Art Ross Trophies, two Hart Memorial Trophies; Won Lester Patrick Trophy in 1978; Scored 717 regular season goals including 118 game-winners; Scored 61 playoff goals; Former GM of the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ht: 6-foot Wt: 196 pounds

DOB: Aug. 3, 1980 In: Thornhill, Ont.

Hockey Inspirations: “Just love for the game is the biggest inspiration. Maybe people who I looked up to when I was a kid, were Doug Gilmour and Steve Yzerman.”

First Hockey Memory: “Just all the times in the street, playing street hockey. And then the pond hockey when you’re real young.”

Nicknames: “Nothing crazy, just ‘Moorsy’ usually.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “I’ll just go with Florida. I love it down here. It doesn’t take anything too fancy to make me happy.”

Favorite Movies: “Braveheart – if I had to name one.”

Last Book Read: “Winston Churchill’s Memoirs of World War II.”

Favorite Meal: “Chicken parm.”

First Job: “Painting fuel tanks for my dad.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Current Car: “SUV Volkswagen (black).”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Well, I’d say the first game (with Rangers). Or last year’s playoffs (with Montreal) – winning some Game 7s.”

Most Painful Moment: “I don’t know. Tough to think of those. I guess it’s good that the good ones stand out. I don’t know.”

Favorite Uniforms: “In the NHL…I like the old school ones. I like the Original Six uniforms. I like the Rangers old ones.”

Closest NHL Friends: “Tough to narrow it down. Fortunate to meet some great people along the way.”

Funniest Player Encountered: “I’d have to say Pavel Kubina. He’s just a unique character (smiles). Yep.”

Toughest Competitor Encountered: “Crosby comes to mind. But there are a lot of guys who compete hard. Peter Forsberg.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “I liked to watch Martin Straka play. Not the biggest guy out there, but an incredibly hard working guy, passionate guy and amazing skill as well. (Tennis?) I loved Agassi. I like watching Federer. He’s a magician. (Boxing?) I like the lightweight guys. They’re not afraid to get right in there and they’re so fast, it’s amazing. (NBA?) Michael Jordan, even though he’s not playing any more I’d rather watch him than anyone else. (Baseball?) I used to like Roberto Alomar when he was with the Blue Jays. I like watching Derek Jeter now. He’s a pretty all-around, clutch player.”

Musical Tastes: “Anything from rock, Louis Armstrong.”

Strangest Game: “This year against Philly, when we won 8-7, or whatever it was. That was a weird game.”

Favorite Sports Outside Hockey: “Tennis.”

Most Memorable Goal: “Game 7 against Washington last year (scored game-winner with 3:36 left in regulation for Montreal).”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty is obviously the biggest thing and that carries into everything that you do. That goes with good character and the way people carry themselves on a daily basis.”

College: Harvard.

HT: 6-0 WT: 213

DOB: January 1, 1981 In: Niagara Falls, Ontario

First Hockey Memory: “I was four-years-old playing with eight-year-old kids. Never touched the puck the whole season. (“No way,” replies a teammate who overhears this.) Never touched the puck.”

Nicknames: “Z, Konopper, Z-Pac, Zen, Konops, Polish Prince, Polish Punisher, Polish Power.”
 
Favorite Movies: “Casino, Blow, Rounders, Shawshank Redemption is in there. Put a normal one in there [laughs].”

Last Book Read: “Was Lance Armstrong’s autobiography.”
 
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Poker, playing sports, watching sports, billiards, wrestling [laughs].”

First Job: “Grew up on a farm, working on a farm. But my first real job that I got a paycheck for was a liquidation store salesperson. In St. Catharines. I took Sundays at the liquidation store from $500 too $2,000 in a matter of three months. True story.”
 
First Car: “Geo Metro (red). Had a few bumps, dents. I put a few more dents into it. At one point, the driver door didn’t open. So I’d show up at the restaurant or club and I’d either have to go through the window or the passenger door. That was pretty cool.”
 

Greatest Sports Moment: “Probably winning the OHL Cup, the OHL Championship (with Ottawa 67’s in 2001). We were big underdogs. To win it like that was pretty big.”

Most Painful Moment: “Pucks off my face. (When?) Twice. Once in Wheeling, West Virginia my first year in the East Coast (League). One-timer off my nose. Syracuse, New York – slapshot tipped off my forehead.”
 
Pre-game Feeling: “Excitement [smiles]. Energy. Energy and excitement.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Oakland Raiders. (NO, in NHL.) No. Oakland Raiders have the nicests uniforms.”

Toughest Competitor: “Wow. Simon Gamache. He played in Milwaukee when I was in Cincinnati. Real big battles with him. Now he’s in Switzerland. That’s the first one thats comes at me.”

Status: Tampa Bay Lightning center
 
HT: 6-foot-4 WT: 223 pounds
 
DOB: April 21, 1980 In: Ile Bizard, Que.
 
Hockey Inspiration: “Steve Yzerman.”
 
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Golf, watching movies, boating.”
 
Nickname: “Just Vinny.”
 
Favorite Movie: “Blackhawk Down.”
 
Favorite TV Show: “24.”
 
Musical Tastes: “U2, Metallica.”
 
Early Hockey Memory: “Christmas one year I got a pair of Easton gloves (blue and white). It was like the happiest Christmas. I slept with them (age 11).”
 
First Job: “I was a…how do I explain it…I took care of a handicapped kid during day camp. He was the only handicapped kid there and I took care of him (age 13).”

First Car: “Cavalier Z24 (red).”
 
Pre-game Feeling: “Think about being relaxed, but don’t get too excited – until I get on the ice. That’s when you get intense.”

Favorite Meal: “Sushi.”
 
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”
 
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the Stanley Cup (2004).”

Favorite Uniforms: “I like the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.”
 
Favorite Arena: “Montreal.”
 
Closest NHL Friends: “Brad Richards, Dan Cloutier.”
 
Funniest Player Encountered: “Andre Roy. He’s just crazy, funny. He’s got a great sense of humor.”
 
Toughest Competitor Encountered: “Wendel Clark. I played with him in ‘98. (Why him?) He’s just…you’ve heard of him, you saw how he played. The look he has. Just tough.”
 
Worst Injury: “Broken foot. Getting hit by a shot. (Remember who shot it?) (Dan) McGillis from Philadelphia.”
 
Funny Hockey Memory: “Just watching Andre Roy every day. No special story. I don’t know how he does it. He’s just funny. (Was he your roommate?) I lived with him for one week. After one day I was like, ‘Wow, how can his wife handle that?’ ”
 
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “A few years ago I went on the ice in Buffalo. I ran out to the ice pretty hard and I didn’t see the red carpet they had out at center ice. I hit the carpet and spun around, ran into the boards, lost my helmet, gloves, stick, everything. That was pretty embarrassing. And my sister was watching.”
 
Favorite Vacation Spot: “I liked South Africa the best – Capetown.”
 
Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s just exciting. He’s got that little arrogance that’s funny. Just unbelievable to watch. (MLB?) Derek Jeter. Complete player, just like his style. (NFL?) Peyton Manning. (Golf/Tennis?) Tiger, Roger Federer. (Boxing?) I always liked (Mike) Tyson. (NASCAR?) The only one I know is Jeff Gordon.”
 
Personality Quality Most Admired: “Loyalty.”

Status: Tampa Bay Lightning center.

HT: 6-0 WT: 176 pounds

DOB: Feb. 7, 1990 In: Markham, Ont.

Hockey Inspirations: “I’d probably say my dad. He was the one who really got me involved in the game at a young age. He had a love and passion for the game and he was the one who got me out there on skates when I was around two-and-a-half years old by taking me public skating. And ever since then I fell in love with the game and he’s been supporting me ever since.”

Hockey Heroes: “My dad’s favorite player was Wendel Clark growing up and I was a big Leaf fan and I really loved watching him play, too. I think, in the modern era, Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman are two guys I really tried to pattern my game after and really look up to. They’re both great on and off the ice, great leaders.”

Nicknames: “Stammer, that’s it. The abbreviation of the last name, just like everyone else.” (smiles)

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I loved playing sports growing up – baseball, lacrosse and soccer. Obviously, every hockey player loves golf. Just the regular things; hanging out with friends. Nothing special.”

Favorite Movie: “Remember The Titans.”

Last Book Read: “Hmm. I think it was probably a hockey psychology book, something along those lines.”

Favorite TV Show: “Two and a Half Men.”

Musical Tastes: “Everything. Rock, rap, country, Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Kid Rock, Nickelback.”

First Hockey Memory: “Very early hockey memory – playing in the Edmonton Brick tournament at the West Edmonton Mall- it’s probably the biggest mall in Canada, we had a tournament there when I was nine; and the big peewee Quebec tournament. Those are big, fond memories in my minor hockey days.”

First Job: “Selling steaks at the St. Lawrence market in downtown Markham.”

Favorite Meal: “Probably a good seafood linguini.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Not a big cereal guy.”

Current Car: “Mercedes.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “For the most part I’m pretty relaxed. I like to go out there, kick the soccer ball around, not really trying to focus on anything in particular. Feel loose. Then once the game starts, you go into a separate mindset.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Getting taken first overall in the NHL draft.”

Most Painful Moment: “Probably losing that West Edmonton mall tournament in double overtime.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Tampa Bay.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “Well, I have a bunch of them. Michael Del Zotto for the Rangers, we’re pretty close. (Alex) Pietrangelo. Mark Katic – my roommate back in Sarnia. Bunch of guys in Sarnia.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Mark Katic, he got drafted by the Islanders. Shane O’Brien.”

Toughest Competitors: “Well, there’s a lot of them in the NHL.”

Funny Hockey Memory: “Well, maybe it wasn’t funny for me. I was going down on a shootout my first year in junior and got to the top of the circle. The puck just went – and this was to win the game – I went to stickhandle the puck and it went right in the corner. I didn’t even get a shot off in the shootout to win it at home. So, it’s pretty funny.”


Favorite Websites: “Facebook. NHL.com.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I love watching baseball – Blue Jays fan. Golf. Tiger. Jim Furyk. Sergio Garcia. Big Raptors fan, too. Football – I love the Bills. I’ve been to a couple of Bills games. Guess I’m going to have to switch over to the Bucs now- making them my two favorite teams.”

Most Memorable Goal: “I have no clue. Biggest goal?  Maybe in junior I think I had back-to-back game-winners at the end of the season to get our team up to sixth place in the standings.”

Strangest Game: “Maybe in minor hockey. We were down 5-1 in the third period and I think I scored five goals that game to come back and win 6-5. That was in minor hockey, though. When I was playing with the Markham Marks.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Just have a good personality, a good sense of humor, work hard, loyal, trustworthy. I think those are attributes everyone looks for, whether it’s a friend, your girlfriend, boyfriend, teammate, coaches. Those are pretty good qualities.”