Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
Status: Washington Capitals right winger.
HT: 6-4 WT: 220
DOB: March 29, 1994 In: Toronto, Ontario
First Hockey Memory: “Backyard rink in Toronto. My dad would build one ever since I was two years old. I had a brother (Peter) that was five years older than me. So I’d go back with him and try to keep up.”
Hockey Inspirations: “In Toronto, you’re not really short for inspiration. Everywhere you look it’s hockey. Growing up, it’s pretty cool having everyone support you and follow you and fuel your love for the game.”
Last Book Read: “I’m reading Divergent (by Veronica Roth) right now. I think the movie is coming out. I just started it. We’ll see how it goes.”
Current Car: “Jeep.”
First Famous Hockey Player You Met Or Encountered: “There’s so many kids that I played with. Tom Fitzgerald was around a lot. His son Ryan played against a rival team of mine, probably five or six years old. Shayne Corson and Steve Thomas, all the guys that are in Toronto and have kids my age. It’s fun seeing them around the rink.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Either winning the Stanley Cup (2018) my first NHL (2013) game or being drafted (16th overall in 2012). It was a lot of fun.”
Most Painful Moment: “Getting cut from world juniors was pretty tough. It was grounding and it made me work a lot harder this year.”
Most Memorable Goal: “My first NHL goal this year was pretty cool, from Ovechkin. That was a dream come true for sure.”
Funniest Player(s) Encountered: “There’s a few. Obviously (Paul) Bissonnette is pretty funny. He asked me to go. He was pretty good about it. I mean, there’s a lot of guys like that who are good guys, funny guys.”
Fiercest Players Encountered: “There’s a lot. (Zac) Rinaldo in Philly is pretty serious. He’s always running around. You always get a good, compete level out of him, for sure.”
Why Do You Love Playing Hockey: “It’s the best sport in the world. I grew up around it. Grew up playing it since I was two years old. It’s what I know.”
Strangest Game: “At Madison Square Garden I lost a skate blade, that was pretty weird. I think it was my second NHL game, in the playoffs.”
Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “Baseball, lacrosse are all fun to play. Football. I don’t really have a major second sport, but I like playing other sports as well.”
Funny Hockey Memory: “Every day. There’s always something going on every day. There’s guys crackin’ jokes. It’s just great coming to the locker room.”
Getting To Know appears every week on thn.com. Mark ‘Scoop’ Malinowski’s hockey books “Facing Behn Wilson” and “Facing Bob Probert” are available on www.amazon.com. Malinowski is the creator of two websites: www.ringobserver.com and www.tennis-prose.com.
