Editors note: This is the sixth installment of Admirals Playoff Diary, OnMilwaukee.coms exclusive look at the Milwaukee Admrials as they progress through the American Hockey League playoffs in search of their second Calder Cup championship in three years. The Admirals swept their second-round series against Houston and will play the winner of a series between Grand Rapids and Manitoba in the Western Conference Championship Series.
I STARTED THE PLAYOFFS PLAYING WITH NASHVILLE, so I wasn't here for the first series against Iowa. Since I have been back we have really clicking on offense and also with our special teams. We have been able to score on the power play, but we have been a little lucky and also scored short-handed.
I say lucky because anytime you are playing short-handed it means that we were taking penalties, which usually isn't a good thing. But we have some quick, gifted forwards that cause havoc out there and they are able to put the puck in the net when they get the opportunity.
Since I am a rookie, there are a lot of things that I have to do to earn my keep, so to speak. We [all of the rookies] have to pick up the pucks after practice, we have to let the veteran guys eat first and we have to pick up the bus after road trips. It isn't really a big deal, but I certainly look forward to the day when I don't have to do it.
When I was a kid, I used to idolize Kris Beech because he was from the same hometown as me (Sicamous, British Columbia). He was unbelievable to watch when he was playing on Single-A teams in my area and he would totally tear the league apart. So, it was pretty special when I got to play with him this year before he got traded to the Capitals. I was very happy to get to know him and we have become good friends.
When we have some time off, like we do now, I like to hang out with the guys. We are a very tight-knit group and so we tend to spend our off time together. Some days we go out to Mayfair Mall, or we might just play some video games in someone's room or now, with the weather getting nicer, we might head out to the golf course.
I also like to watch movies. Since we are on the road a lot and we don't always know what to do in each town we will usually hit the theater to catch a flick. We also watch movies when we are traveling by bus to away games.
The best movie I have seen recently is "The Inside Man." However, my favorite movie of all-time has to be "Slap Shot." I was playing for the Predators when the Hanson Brothers came to the Bradley Center for one of our games in March. Needless to say, I was very disappointed that I missed them!
