Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I don't think you're going to see any hockey player tell the media or anyone they're the best player in the world. It's just not who we are.
For me, the first thing I do when I know I have to do the fastest skater is check my edges and make sure there's no nicks or anything like that.
Edmonton has such a great history. It makes coming to the rink special to know those former players wore the jersey and had so much success here.
If you want to do something for the rest of your life, it's not going to be easy, especially being a pro hockey player, so you need to work at it.
Playing in the OHL, people expect you to get a ton of points. When you go out and have a good game it's almost like people expect that out of you.
There's something about playing in junior and being with your buddies all the time and going through that run, it's hard not to fall in love with it.
Guys that have the best shot in the world still shoot pucks, and that's for a reason. You keep growing your game and finding different ways to produce.
You look at all the elite players around the League, the guys that are responsible defensively, the guys that can score at will, they kind of do it all.
My dad gave me this advice: 'Make what you want to do for the rest of your life the first thing you do in the day and then worry about hanging out with friends.'
Every year is a new year, and when you look at the turnover year to year, teams that made the playoffs last year aren't a guarantee to make the playoffs this year.
You've got to work hard, got to outwork the other guy and got to outwork the other team. Sometimes outsmart them every now and then, but it all starts with the work.
I'm sure personal accolades are nice and you appreciate them very much. But it's about winning Cups and winning Olympics and winning World Cups and that kind of thing.
I think when I first came into the League, I was blowing the zone all the time, just kind of expecting pucks to get out. You learn very quickly that you can't be doing that.
At the end of the day, it is hockey. It's the same game, the rules don't change. It's the same hockey game I've been playing since I was 2 years old. I think you can kind of rely on that.
There is a lot of instinct that comes with playing hockey and playing a number of games and playing all the way up; you kind of get a feel for what's gonna happen and make plays off that.
He's Bobby Orr - he's been through it all. Whatever he says, you listen. If you ask a question, you're dying to hear the answer, trying to figure out any piece of information that made him successful.
As a kid I wore my team's tracksuit all the time. Splash pants or track pants. I wore a hat every day. And then when I got to the NHL, guys would make fun of me that I had the worse style in the league.
You can't just go out and buy players and make a super team, because it's so hard to do that. The salary cap doesn't allow it. We have a much smaller salary cap than the NBA, and they only have 12 on a roster.
I definitely believe in myself. And I don't need to show that on the outside. I just don't feel like I need to tell people how I feel about myself. I know my skills and I know what I'm comfortable in, and I keep it to myself.
I think the main thing, you only get one career and you need to make the most money that you can, and any player will tell you that, you need to take care of yourself and look after yourself and your family and those around you.
Obviously I get paid to score and create chances, and that's what I have to do. But just at the same time, I have to be able to be responsible defensively, good on face-offs, all the little things that coaches love and that win games.
I'm definitely not one of those guys that's chirping the guys that dress super nice, because you know, there's guys out there in the league - and on my team in fact - that have great style. And I'm just like, 'go for it, man, you look good!'
I was definitely not the cocky kid. I was probably on the other end of the spectrum - I was quiet. I remember a time when there was a skills competition, and I think I was five, and I was so nervous to even compete that I chose not to do the skating part.
I think I'm a guy that can relate to everyone and is fairly close with everyone on the team and can try to help bring guys together. That's what I tried to focus on when I was in Erie and I felt everyone was a part of the team. I definitely try to lead that way; I'm not the big rah-rah guy.
There are certain things you can say off the ice, but I think it's mostly on the ice. There are certain situations where you feel like the team may need a big play, something like that, where you feel like it's your responsibility to step up and you do that, but I definitely do that more on the ice than off.
It's always tough when you're off the ice for a while when you've got to come back because you can't replicate the type of cardio that you need to play hockey and you can't really replicate skating at all. You can run as many stairs, or bike as many whatever on your spin bike as you want, but you can't replicate it at all.