After a game-day morning skate, Moose forward JJ Hunter spent a few minutes answering your questions in the fifth Ask-a-Moose session of the 2006-07 season.
Click here to listen to the JJ Hunter interview, or read the transcript below. Visit Moosehockey.com again soon for the next Ask-a-Moose feature!
|
 |
1. What do you do to get motivated before a big game Danny – Grand Forks, B.C.
|
 |
I think it's pretty easy to get motivated the night before games, just because you know the excitement that there is in the building. Having an opportunity to play-especially in a place like Winnipeg, where the fans are excellent and they support us so well-it's very easy to get motivated. And I think the whole day leading up to that game adds to that motivation factor, being able to come down to the rink in the morning and skate with the guys and getting ready that way makes you motivated early on in the day. And then coming to the rink then, and having your pre-game meeting, doing kind of the things you do to get ready, all add to that motivation factor.
|
|
2. Do you have any special pre-game rituals that you do before every home game? Like a certain meal you eat, or certain exercise you do? And how does that affect your playing? Ashley - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
I try not to get too caught up with being superstitious about pre-game rituals or having to do things exactly the same way. A lot of guys just feel they have to do things exactly the right way: tie one skate before the other and they way they get dressed, how they approach the whole day. For myself, I just try to do what makes me feel the best, and that starts with how much sleep I get and when I go to bed, as well as what I eat and what I do. As far as eating goes, I like to eat a lot of vegetables, I like potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, those things, and then I also like a little bit of pasta too and some chicken, especially on the day of the game. And then as far as preparing at the rink, it's just a matter of going through the exercises that get you warm before you go on the ice, but you don't want to go overboard and get too tired before you get on either.
So it's finding that balance. Over the years, you just kind of learn what makes you feel best in the game situations, and then you try and replicate that because your body is kind of like a machine in the sense that what you put into it and how you prepare it is going to determine the performance, too, on the ice.
|
|
3. Hey JJ. I am a 15 year old Goalie and I was wondering what helps you get focused and stay calm during a game? Cody - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Cody, that is a very good question and something that I had to work through and sometimes still do, in certain games and at certain times of the season, because during the course of the game and during the course of the season, you kind of have ups and downs. You have shifts that go well, shifts that don't go well, and it's important to be able to remain calm and stay focused on each and every shift.
One thing that does help me is not focusing on the negatives of what has happened in the previous games or previous shifts because if you continue to focus on those negative aspects, that will get you upset and you won't be as focused as you need to be. So you need to learn from the things that maybe you can change on the ice, but then look ahead. One thing that really helps is going through, in your mind, things that have gone well is past games. And as a goaltender, you can think of big saves that you've made or games where you just feel like you're unstoppable and try to replicate that feeling in your mind because your mind is a powerful tool and if it's in the right mindset, it will determine what your body does to a large degree as well. And like I said, there's going to be ups and downs, but continue to focus on the positives.
|
|
4. Are there any special drills you practice that make you so efficient on face-offs, or is it just something you try and work on as part of your game? Ada - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
I like this question because face-offs are something that I've tried to work on over the years and a part of the game that I really enjoy. Maybe some people have heard the term "a game within the game" and face-offs are really in that category because it's something that you're doing one-on-one with an opponent or a few opponents on the other team. Because often, whoever gets possession of the puck off the face-off is going to determine who has the majority of the play, often in games.
And so for the face-off factor, it's something that I started when I was young. I have four younger brothers and two of the other guys, two of my brothers, are centremen as well. So Dad would build us a rink on the farm and we'd practice them against eachother, and in summer training, we'd train in Calgary and my uncle would drop pucks. We had a piece of practice that we'd lay on the driveway and just practice against one-another, doing different techniques, trying to win different ways, trying to read what the other guys was doing. As we got better, between ourselves, it forced us to find new ways to become proficient, to become better at the face-offs. My uncle would often leave with wounds because of our battles in front on the driveway, but it's something you have to continue to work on, as well as it's important to watch, to see what other guys do. As a kid growing up, a family friend of ours was Bobby Bassen, and he played in the NHL for a long time and was a guy that won a lot of face-offs and remained in the NHL largely because of his proficiency there in the face-off circle. And watching him, watching how he won face-offs, watching opponents when you're on the bench, seeing what they're doing to win or to be beaten and try to replicate those techniques are all things that you can work on to become better at it.
|
|
5. Hey JJ, if you weren't a hockey player, what do you think you'd be doing? Ada – Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Well, there's a few things that I really love. Probably earlier on in life, when I was going to high school, I really loved the sciences and I was actually excited about maybe going to school to do something in the medical field. But when hockey started to come along, those plans changed a little bit. Right now, there's a few things that I love. My parents have a farm back home in Saskatchewan, and in the springtime, my brothers and I all go home and help out there. That's something we're able to do as a family, and it's a business that Dad has worked at to grow into something that I could see myself maybe doing somewhere down the road if my brothers wind up there as well.
And one other thing that we do a lot of, as a family, is that we grew up playing a lot of music. I know it's pretty tough to make a living at that, but it is something that I really enjoy, I guess maybe more as a hobby. My brother's going to school right now in a music program at Rocky Mountain Bible College in Calgary, and he's quite the musician. It's something that we love to do when we're together too. Maybe that'll have something to do with my future down the road, someday.
|
|
6. How hard is it to join a team after the season has already begun, and did knowing some of the Moose players previously help you gel with the group? Anita - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Yeah, it is a little bit of a different experience. When you start with a team, you become comfortable with where you're at, and I was privileged to be a part of the Edmonton Oilers organization for a few years and so being in that organization for five years, you get to know the guys and it becomes comfortable in the locker room, whereas all of a sudden you have to join a new organization and meet new guys and kind of get to know everybody involved, the training staff and the coaches. It does take a little bit of an adjustment, but it was a really easy transition coming here to Manitoba because first of all, I knew quite a few of the guys, and I played with some of them. Jesse Schultz and I played together in Prince Albert with the Raiders in the WHL in junior, and trained with a lot of the guys, or skated with them, in the summertime-Brad Moran and Jason Jaffray and Tyler Bouck. And then guys like Nathan Smith played with my younger brother in Swift Current. And so there were a number of guys that I knew, and it's neat because a hockey team is really like a family, and so when you come in and have an opportunity to be a part of things, the guys make you feel welcome and it doesn't take long for you feel part of the group.
|
|
7. Hey, welcome to Winnipeg! Glad you can add your skills to the Moose. My question is, who do you think is playing their best game these past few weeks? Mike - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Well that's a good question. It's been great to be part of a team that is doing as well as we are right now. I think we're doing well because of a number of factors, and a number of guys are playing well. One guy that's really stood out, especially before Christmas and leading up to going over to the Spengler Cup, is Brandon Reid. He's scored a lot of big goals for us and really elevated his game, and I think that made a big difference. The guys on our first line, of course-Brad Moran and Jason Jaffray and Lee Goren-are all guys that have contributed offensively all the way through the year, and they continue to do that and that's a reason why we've had continued success as well. And I think Wade Flaherty and Drew MacIntyre . . . It's unfortunate Wade got hurt but Drew's been able to step in and do a good job in his absence. That makes a big difference, when you know you can trust your goaltender behind you, it makes it a lot easier to play in front of him. And those goaltenders have given us a great opportunity.
And another guy that . . . I mean, all the guys are playing well. You hate to pick out a few guys, but Yannik Tremblay is also a guy that, on the back end, makes the game so easy as a forward because he makes the first good pass and that really makes a difference in the play of the game. He's a guy that really comes to mind too.
|
|
8. Hey JJ. I was really excited to hear that you'd been sent here. My question is, what do you do on your days off, and does the team spend a lot of off-ice time together? Balco - Brandon, MB
|
|
Yeah, that's another neat thing about being a part of a team. Like I mentioned earlier about the family atmosphere, is that off the ice, the better that you gel there, the more cohesive you'll be as a unit on the ice. That may seem like a bit of an odd thing to say, but it is true: the more close-knit you are off the ice, the better you're going to do on the ice. And so we do do quite a few things together, and that's a neat thing. There's been a number of times where we've had things that we go out do together as a team and that builds camaraderie. Even if not everybody can make it, the guys that can will go do something that we enjoy.
For myself, if we're not hanging out with the guys, I mentioned the music. I like to play the guitar, and my mom's sister lives here in town and I actually just moved in with them, and they have a piano too, so I like to fiddle around on that if I get an opportunity. I like to read and do some studying that way as well. There's a lot of things that I enjoy doing, but those are a few.
|
|
9. Hey JJ. Welcome to Manitoba. My question to you is, who is your best friend on the team and who is your roommate on road trips Alex - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
I've had a few roommates already on the road, but right now my roommate's Nathan McIver and it's been good. When you spend time on the road, you spend a lot of time in hotels and you get an opportunity to get to know your roommate and see where they're coming from, and some of their history, where they're from and what has kind of brought them to the place they're at. It's been good rooming with Nathan and I look forward to more good road trips.
As far as best friend, there's a lot of guys that I really enjoy being with. Jason Jaffray opened his home to me right after I got here and allowed me to stay at his house, and so living with him was a good opportunity. He's a guy that played with my younger brother Luke in Swift Current as well, and Luke always spoke highly of him. Even though I didn't know Jason really well before I came here, there's a reason why guys play well on the ice and have a good rapport with the people they interact with, and Jason's a prime example of that and a guy that I've enjoyed getting to know and spend time with.
|
|
10. Hey JJ, good job on the commentary during the Toronto game. Was that your first stint in the booth or is that something you're interested in pursuing after your hockey career? Anita - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
That was the first time that I've done it in quite a few years. I did a little bit of colour with a team that I played with about five or six years ago, but I think I only did it for one other game. And yeah, it's fun. I know Brian Munz, who's our radio guy, from Prince Albert. He did our play-by-play commentary there in Prince Albert, as well as the year of the lockout, the year that the Edmonton Oilers had their farm team in Edmonton. He was our commentator there as well. So I've been able to do a few things with him, and he knows that I like to get on the radio sometimes if there's an opportunity so we talked about it before the game and it was fun. It's different. It's not as easy as what you'd think. When you're doing an interview, you have as much time as you want to say what you need to say, whereas when you're doing the play-by-play, it's a little bit more difficult because there's a shorter time span-you kind of have to fit what you want into the time just between face-offs or when the play ends to when it starts. And so you really kind of have to be on the ball and be paying attention to what's going on so that you're making wise comments. There's no re-do and no editing, unfortunately on live radio, so you have to be careful with how you approach things. But it was fun. I enjoyed it, and who knows, maybe somewhere down the road that'll be something that I'll be able to do, but that's not a focus right now.
|
|
11. What is the highlight of your career? Michael - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Thanks for that Michael. I think there's a couple things that come to mind, but the biggest highlight was playing in my first NHL exhibition game. Growing up in a small town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Calgary was the closest city to us and so we knew a lot about the Flames growing up, and so being able to play my first exhibition game with Edmonton in Calgary against the Flames was just an amazing experience. My family was able to come up, and standing on the blue line at the start of the game, hearing the anthems in that building was the highlight of my career that I'll never forget.
|
|
12. Hey JJ! Settle a dispute between a friend and I. He says JJ stands for Jumpin' Jehosephat, and I said it stands for Jo-Jo (like, from the Psychic Alliance). Please end the suspense. Travis - Winnipeg, MB
|
|
Well those are two fantastic guesses, I must say. And maybe I should just keep you in suspense with fantastic intuition like that. I'll let the guesses keep comin', how about that?
Jen: You're not going to tell us what it stands for!
There's ways of figuring it out. Maybe next time.
|
|
|
