Man.Utd
8-07-05, 1:48 PM
By DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun
Q.H.: People were surprised when the Senators selected you ninth overall in the NHL entry draft. If you would have been forced into a prediction, when would you have guessed you'd be picked?
B.L.: I was thinking probably more between 12 and 15, somewhere in there. I was hoping to be a Top 10 pick, but I wasn't sure if that was reasonable or not.
Q.H.: Has it all sunk in yet?
B.L.: Yeah, I think so. It was such a great weekend, but it's not like other sports where you go straight to the team after the draft, so I'll just go back to work this week and take it from there.
Q.H.: You were given a tour of the Corel Centre after you were drafted ... what impressed you most about that?
B.L.: It's obviously a great facility. The locker room is unreal, the rink is unreal. Even the weight room, the training room is really nice. But what impressed me the most was how nice the people were. Our limo driver was such a nice guy, and the guy at the rink, "Brooksie" ... they were such nice people.
Q.H.: How did you celebrate on Saturday night?
B.L.: I celebrated with my family, we went to a little Italian place down in the market area, then right back to the hotel because we had a flight the next morning and we had to be at the airport for 4:30 a.m.
Q.H.: What was the party like when you got back to Minnesota?
B.L.: There wasn't really a party. My girlfriend picked me up at the airport and we just went back to the lake. There was a couple of my buddies waiting for me there, and it was nice to see them. Then it was back to the usual on Monday.
Q.H.: Who's the one player you look forward to meeting most on the Senators?
B.L.: They have so many good players ... Daniel Alfredsson, Zdeno Chara ... it's tough to just pick one.
Q.H.: What jersey number do you wear, and why?
B.L.: 22. Brian Leetch wears No. 2, so I wear 22. I've worn it through high school, and I'm wearing it at the University of North Dakota.
Q.H.: You're listed at 6-foot-21/2, 200 lbs.? Are you trying to add weight, or are you good at that size?
B.L.: I'm trying to get bigger, obviously. I don't know if I could play at 240, but probably 215, 220 right in there.
Q.H.: What's your training regiment like in the summer?
B.L.: I train four days a week, lift pretty hard, run a lot, skate a lot too. It's pretty busy.
Q.H.: Who's cracking the whip?
B.L.: Dominic Noonan from Moorhead. He trains our whole high school team. I've been training with him for the past five or six summers.
Q.H.: What's your favourite way to spend time that doesn't involve hockey?
B.L.: I love being at the lake. We have a cabin on Detroit Lake in Minnesota. It's really nice. I love to golf, too.
Q.H.: What kind of golfer are you?
B.L.: Average, I'd say.
Q.H.: Your handicap?
B.L.: Probably between seven and 10.
Q.H.: That's a lot better than average. What's the strongest part of your game?
B.L.: I'm a pretty good iron guy.
Q.H.: Your favourite TV show?
B.L.: I really like Boy Meets World, and Friends, too.
Q.H.: Your favourite food?
B.L.: Pizza.
Q.H.: Your specialty in the kitchen?
B.L.: I'm not much of a chef. I can hardly cook anything at all. I can make a pretty good omelette.
Q.H.: Who's your best friend?
B.L.: Spencer Deutz. He was a goalie for our team last season.
Q.H.: Do you know where you fit into U.N.D.'s plans this season?
B.L.: They lost a lot of D-men, so hopefully I'll be able to step in and play right away.
Q.H.: If you had no hope of a career in sports, what would you do?
B.L.: I'd probably be an anesthetist. That's what my mom is.
Q.H.: What does your dad do?
B.L.: He's in the process of selling his grain elevator company. So he just kind of bums around, doing odd jobs around the lake for now. He'll get a job in the fall, I'm sure.
Q.H.: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
B.L.: Playing in the NHL. Hopefully, an all-star calibre player, and hopefully playing for the same team: Ottawa.
THE FACTS:
- Born: March 26, 1987
- Birthplace: Fargo, N.D.
- Position: Defenceman
- Stats: 6-foot-21/2, 200 lbs.
- Shoots: Right
Q.H.: People were surprised when the Senators selected you ninth overall in the NHL entry draft. If you would have been forced into a prediction, when would you have guessed you'd be picked?
B.L.: I was thinking probably more between 12 and 15, somewhere in there. I was hoping to be a Top 10 pick, but I wasn't sure if that was reasonable or not.
Q.H.: Has it all sunk in yet?
B.L.: Yeah, I think so. It was such a great weekend, but it's not like other sports where you go straight to the team after the draft, so I'll just go back to work this week and take it from there.
Q.H.: You were given a tour of the Corel Centre after you were drafted ... what impressed you most about that?
B.L.: It's obviously a great facility. The locker room is unreal, the rink is unreal. Even the weight room, the training room is really nice. But what impressed me the most was how nice the people were. Our limo driver was such a nice guy, and the guy at the rink, "Brooksie" ... they were such nice people.
Q.H.: How did you celebrate on Saturday night?
B.L.: I celebrated with my family, we went to a little Italian place down in the market area, then right back to the hotel because we had a flight the next morning and we had to be at the airport for 4:30 a.m.
Q.H.: What was the party like when you got back to Minnesota?
B.L.: There wasn't really a party. My girlfriend picked me up at the airport and we just went back to the lake. There was a couple of my buddies waiting for me there, and it was nice to see them. Then it was back to the usual on Monday.
Q.H.: Who's the one player you look forward to meeting most on the Senators?
B.L.: They have so many good players ... Daniel Alfredsson, Zdeno Chara ... it's tough to just pick one.
Q.H.: What jersey number do you wear, and why?
B.L.: 22. Brian Leetch wears No. 2, so I wear 22. I've worn it through high school, and I'm wearing it at the University of North Dakota.
Q.H.: You're listed at 6-foot-21/2, 200 lbs.? Are you trying to add weight, or are you good at that size?
B.L.: I'm trying to get bigger, obviously. I don't know if I could play at 240, but probably 215, 220 right in there.
Q.H.: What's your training regiment like in the summer?
B.L.: I train four days a week, lift pretty hard, run a lot, skate a lot too. It's pretty busy.
Q.H.: Who's cracking the whip?
B.L.: Dominic Noonan from Moorhead. He trains our whole high school team. I've been training with him for the past five or six summers.
Q.H.: What's your favourite way to spend time that doesn't involve hockey?
B.L.: I love being at the lake. We have a cabin on Detroit Lake in Minnesota. It's really nice. I love to golf, too.
Q.H.: What kind of golfer are you?
B.L.: Average, I'd say.
Q.H.: Your handicap?
B.L.: Probably between seven and 10.
Q.H.: That's a lot better than average. What's the strongest part of your game?
B.L.: I'm a pretty good iron guy.
Q.H.: Your favourite TV show?
B.L.: I really like Boy Meets World, and Friends, too.
Q.H.: Your favourite food?
B.L.: Pizza.
Q.H.: Your specialty in the kitchen?
B.L.: I'm not much of a chef. I can hardly cook anything at all. I can make a pretty good omelette.
Q.H.: Who's your best friend?
B.L.: Spencer Deutz. He was a goalie for our team last season.
Q.H.: Do you know where you fit into U.N.D.'s plans this season?
B.L.: They lost a lot of D-men, so hopefully I'll be able to step in and play right away.
Q.H.: If you had no hope of a career in sports, what would you do?
B.L.: I'd probably be an anesthetist. That's what my mom is.
Q.H.: What does your dad do?
B.L.: He's in the process of selling his grain elevator company. So he just kind of bums around, doing odd jobs around the lake for now. He'll get a job in the fall, I'm sure.
Q.H.: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
B.L.: Playing in the NHL. Hopefully, an all-star calibre player, and hopefully playing for the same team: Ottawa.
THE FACTS:
- Born: March 26, 1987
- Birthplace: Fargo, N.D.
- Position: Defenceman
- Stats: 6-foot-21/2, 200 lbs.
- Shoots: Right