The Captain Sets the Tone
Can we go back to the very beginning and, what you remember of your first training camp meeting him?
Yeah, it was a little while ago. And obviously he has changed to this amazing person and player and leader that he is today, but I think you could see those tendencies right from the start. He was so, so humble, such a such a great guy, and really hard-working guy right from the start. You saw that he just loved being around the guys. He wanted the best and he really cared for everyone in the room.
And I think that's what makes him such a great leader. He wants this team to [succeed] and he cares about everyone to bring their A game. And he makes himself better every year, he comes back every year [and] he's better defensively, he gets better offensively, and he just continues growing.
In this room, we know how valued he is, how big of a piece he is. Do you think he doesn't get enough recognition from the outside [for] just how big a piece he is?
Yeah. I mean, he's the driving train for this team. I mean, he's the identity of what this team is about. And we rely so much on him.
He's such a such a unique player. So good defensively. And I think a lot of people recognise how really good he is defensively and how hard he is to play against. [But] I think people finally started realising that he really has that offensive skill. He's a goal scorer. He's so easy to play with. He's, I mean, you always know where he is on the ice. He has great skill, great speed, great puck handling. He's got a really good shot and like you saw last game, he really knows how to set up guys as well so. I mean such a such a great player. It's like, you don't come across players like that often.
We talk so much about, you know, being a quiet leader, and I know he's the type of guy who will stand up and say what needs to be said at certain moments when you guys are in the room. But what is it like for a team to follow a quiet leader? Like what draws you in in those moments?
He's kind of like a lead by example type of guy. You know that Nico brings it every day and if you want to be a part of it you got to follow it. And when a player like that who always shows what needs to be done [realises] that our group isn't following, he steps up and says something.
I mean, he's so respected in the group that we all listen. And we all know that when Nico stands up to say something, it's usually because it has gotten a little bit too far and he hasn't really gotten guys to follow his lead, I think that's pretty unique.
I know you played a lot of your career in the West, so maybe you didn't know him as much, but what have you learned about him as a player? And then secondly, as a leader?
I didn't really know a whole lot about Nico. You see the highlight reel goals and stuff like that. But I think getting to know him, the person, away from hockey, you know he's a captain for a reason. He's a guy that does his best to have relationships with everyone on the team, young guys, veteran guys, guys with families, single guys. He's an easy and approachable guy on a day-to-day.
And then you talk about the hockey player, all situations you want him on the ice, for a d-zone draw, up a goal, down a goal, power play, PK. Really just an all-situations type of guy. And I think, the highest compliment you can give someone in our game is that everybody wants to play with them, and everybody wants to be with them. I think if you ask any of the forwards, everybody loves playing with him. His ability to compliment everyone's style of game, he's just a complete player.
There are different types of captains and one of the things we hear a lot is, he's a quiet leader, a leader by example. What does that mean to teammates?
Well, you can just tell when it's forced or when it's natural to somebody. As you said, not everybody's a vocal leader, not everybody's the rah-rah guy. You know, Nico's more of a quiet leader that goes out there, does his thing, leads by example, but he's confident enough to speak up in a room, in a team environment, when it's necessary too.
And I think those are the best kinds of communication when it's not every day and it [doesn’t get] repetitive. When he does speak, everybody is listening. […] highest compliment you [can give] someone is that everyone respects him, all throughout the line up and the locker room.
He’s my Selke winner. Just getting to see him every day. Just how impressive he is. Yeah. He's a fantastic player.
How old were you when you first heard about Nico?
I think pretty young. It was clear that that he was a special player. I played against him, when I was playing U-20 and I went down to the younger group [people my age], and he was playing already. So, I played against him, and we knew back then that he was a really good player, but he was way younger [than everyone else].
And when you look at him this year, you've been here obviously a couple of years now. What has been so impressive, particularly this year, about the way he grabbed hold of his offensive game and continues to lead this group
The way he holds himself off the ice and the way he leads in his own way, staying true to the person that he is, that's very special. And then as a player, in key situations he comes through and leads the team not just offensively but defensively. Doing a lot of the dirty work and— he likes doing it. He likes to put the team in front and he's not afraid to do the dirty work like blocking shots, he’s taking so many face-offs. So, all the little things that he does, most of the time they lead to goals or something. But even if they [don’t] he does them so well. I think he's still underrated, how good he actually is.
I know in here he gets a tonne of credit and he's so valued. Do you think he gets enough credit outside?
I mean, that's the thing about Nico, I don't think he cares. He's the kind of guy [that] wants to be as good as possible for the team and that's what's important for him. So, we definitely know, the guys in here, every guy that's worked with him, and I think guys that play against him definitely feel that too. I'm sure he'll get the recognition. He will. But for us, he's such an important player so we're just really happy that he's on our side.
You talk about game-breakers. One of those is your captain. Now that you've had close to a full season with him, what have you learned most about who he is as a player that doesn't get appreciated?
I would say just the consistency, just how low maintenance he is. You know as a coach, how reliable and consistent he is, that's really what you want in a player and on your team and certainly in your captain. I've just been so impressed by him and how he's performed this year.
I've acknowledged before, I don't know if I've given him an easy shift on the season. He gets the hard assignments every night, everything from face-offs, the challengers, the volume of face-offs that he that he has to take for us. First over the boards for power play and penalty kill. The matchups. And then to still contribute and produce the way that he has offensively with all those defensive assignments.
And to me, he's helped make us a much-improved defensive team and been an anchor for us that way. It's been a tremendous season that I hope gets the league wide recognition that it deserves. It certainly isn't lost on me what he provides us.
