With the 2019-20 season paused indefinitely, theScore recently surveyed a group of NHL players via phone at their homes about a variety of topics.
The six-player panel includes: the Sharks' Evander Kane, the Maple Leafs' Alexander Kerfoot, the Lightning's Kevin Shattenkirk, the Coyotes' Jakob Chychrun, the Kings' Austin Wagner, and the Hurricanes' Warren Foegele.
Interviews were held individually and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What's one specific part about being at the rink that you miss the most? It could be a person, a smell, a superstition - anything.
Shattenkirk: For me, the highlight of my day coming to the rink is going into the training room. Usually, that's where a lot of guys are congregating in the morning. Some guys go in there to get their vitamins, some guys are going in there to get treatment for injuries before practice or the morning skate, whatever it may be. I usually have a crossword puzzle going. Guys come in and we all take our turns at it. It seems to be our water-cooler talk.
Chychrun: It's really just the conversations with the guys. We'll sit at the rink for two hours after practice and talk about absolute nonsense and give each other a hard time. It's those little stupid arguments and conversations where we're busting each other's chops over little stupid things. … I feel like my face hurts when I'm leaving the rink because I'm smiling the whole time.
Foegele: Once practice is done, you get to fool around. It's kind of like you're a kid in a sense, like you're out there on the pond and playing because you just love the sport. That's probably what I miss the most: Enjoying the game and working on getting better. … Whether that is doing shootouts after practice, or shooting at targets, or doing one-on-one battles. It's the competitiveness that I miss, for sure. Competing to win and going up against your buddies out there.
Wagner: For me, it's the schedule that I miss the most. Waking up and having that daily routine. It's different for every day. A game day, for instance, is different than a practice day. That's probably the biggest thing. Even people going to the office, like my mom; she misses the daily routine, too. It's definitely hard on a lot of people.
Who's the most underrated player in the NHL, and why? You can't pick a teammate.
Kerfoot: Miro Heiskanen is the most underrated player. I know (Jason) Spezza on our team - he obviously played in Dallas with him - talks about him a lot. And the more you watch him the more you realize how good he is. He gets a lot of recognition, but maybe not the amount that he deserves. I think that he's an elite skater, probably one of the best in the league. He's got good hands, good feet. He's able to kind of do everything out there: Good defensively and also can carry the play in transition, can make plays offensively. He's really good and is going to be really good for a long time.
Chychrun: It's probably easy to say after the year he had this year, but I think it's Leon Draisaitl. This was the first year everyone realized he could be a top-two player in the league. Him and (Connor) McDavid could be one, two - honestly. I remember when he signed his contract, everyone was freaking out, saying he's overpaid. That's probably the best deal in the league now. … And we play them a lot, so I see a ton of Draisaitl. He's just so dominant. He averaged like 24 minutes a game, a ridiculous number for a forward. It feels like he's out there the entire game and plays in every single situation. That's so valuable.
Kane: You might not think he's underrated but … Draisaitl. Even though me and him don't get along on the ice - I don't know him personally - I would probably go with him. He gets a lot of attention, but I think this year specifically he was able to show he could do it on his own. A lot of people thought he wouldn't be as productive if he wasn't teammates with Connor. … And it's not necessarily his production. It's him being able to carry his own line. He showed that, that was more evident this year. He's underrated in terms of his finish. I know he had 50 goals a season before, but when you think of Leon Draisaitl, I don't know if people think "sniper." He's got good hands, makes plays, can obviously score. But I think he has really, really good finish.
Wagner: I think (Brendan) Gallagher might be a little underrated. He does have an impact on the game every night, and I think people don't realize that, if he's not on the scoresheet. You can obviously look at (Sebastian) Aho in Carolina, too. Carolina doesn't get a ton of media attention. He's an unbelievable player. … There's so many things (about Aho). Just the way he skates and controls the pace of the game. He doesn't just score. He can make plays and do just about everything. He'll turn out to be one of the better players in the league eventually, and he's already showing glimpses of that.
Let's pretend you're NHL commissioner for a day and can make a change to the game. What do you do?
Kane: Honestly, I would make a completely relaxed dress code. That would be my No. 1 thing. That's what I would do. … Being restricted to being able to wear only one style of clothing (takes away) marketability. Players aren't able to show off their own personalities, their own sense of style. It also limits bringing other industries and other entities into our sport, such as the fashion industry. It's pretty hard to be diverse when you are only allowed and able to wear one style of clothing. It doesn't make a lot of sense. You look at how the NBA integrates fashion into their sport, and that's one of the many reasons why they generate so much revenue. They market their players and part of marketing their players is allowing their players to be themselves and allowing them to market themselves.
(Editor's note: Kane's interest in league fashion is bolstered by the late-summer launch of his "EK9" clothing line.)
Shattenkirk: One thing for me that I think could be changed is taking the trapezoid out. I'd like to see goalies handle the puck a little bit more. When it was out previously, the two-line pass was still in play, and that had teams slowed down as they came into the zone. I think taking it out now could present these situations where the goalie isn't sure if he should come all the way out because of the speed of the forechecker, which is now unbelievable, especially since you can't hold guys up. I think it would spice the game up a little bit.
Wagner: That's a really tough one. I think a lot of people have underestimated what Gary (Bettman) has done. I think Gary's done a lot of good things for the league. … I don't really know if I'd change anything. As a young guy, too, it's hard because you haven't been in the league for so long and haven't seen the changes over the years.
What was your "Welcome to the NHL" moment?
Kerfoot: My first game, to be honest. We (the Avalanche) played in New York at MSG. You're on the road to start off your career and that was a really special moment. You're playing in a historical building like Madison Square Garden, it's your first game in the NHL, you've got your family in town. It doesn't really get much better than that. And I just remember how nervous I was that whole day. I don't think I slept much the night before the game, and then everything leading up to the game is kind of a blur. ... You dream about that your whole life, and then all of a sudden you're there and you're playing with some of the best players in the world and against some of the best players in the world, people you grew up watching. You're playing next to TV reporters who you've been watching the year before, or who commentated the playoffs. Stuff like that. Every little detail of it is pretty special.
Foegele: I remember I scored my first NHL goal and I lined up beside Bobby Ryan and he said, "Congrats, kid. Welcome to the National." And I was like, "What the heck!? Bobby Ryan's talking to me?" I'll always remember that.
Wagner: I was lucky enough to play in the home opener, make the roster on opening day (for the 2018-19 season). For me, it was probably that first game, when you hear all the noise in the tunnel and they call your name. That gives you something to feel good about. 100%, that was it.
What have you learned about yourself (or others) in quarantine?
Foegele: (Laughs) I've learned to cook better. During the season, you do cook but you also eat out a lot with your teammates. So I've taken the opportunity to get better at cooking. I wouldn't say I'm the greatest, but I've improved my BBQ skills and read some recipes. Trying new things, getting out of my comfort zone since I have all of this time.
Kerfoot: I think when you're in quarantine for so long, everybody's qualities come to the forefront. You spend a little bit more time with everyone for so long, and maybe some of those negative qualities (appear). I would say that I've noticed that about myself a little bit. Some of the things around the house have been a little bit selfish. I haven't been doing the dishes, haven't been helping out and making meals as much as I maybe thought I was. I think that's been something that has been a little bit eye-opening for me, and something I haven't appreciated my mom doing for me for a long time or my girlfriend in the last little while. I've tried to do a little bit better job of that during this quarantine period.
Chychrun: It's really nice having quality time with (my mom and dad). I'm sure, once we get through this, we'll look back on this time and realize that there might not be another opportunity to have this much quality time with loved ones or whoever you're staying with. I've just been trying to enjoy it with them the best we can, which makes time go by easier. I can't complain because they've been doing all my chores, cooking me every meal. I wake up to a breakfast every morning, a nice dinner, so it's been great. It's been nice to have them here. I couldn't imagine doing this alone. It would be pretty crazy.
John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.
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