The Man Behind the Mask: Brad Thiessen

Here is Pens Universe's latest interview with Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguin netminder Brad Thiessen. Again, great job to all our readers whom submitted some questions!

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PU: Did you have a favorite team or player growing up? If so, which team or what player was that?

BT: My favorite team growing up was always the Vancouver Canucks, I remember being pretty devastated when they lost in game 7 of the finals to the Rangers in 94. My favorite player was Felix "the cat" Potvin. I liked him when he was the Leafs and after he went to the Islanders he was traded to Vancouver which made me pretty happy, I have his Canucks jersey.

PU: Why did you choose the sport of hockey?

BT: In Canada that's just pretty much what you grow up with. I also really enjoyed playing baseball but as I got older with all the training and everything year round it turned into hockey all the time.

PU: Do you consider yourself to be superstitious in any way?

BT: I don't think I would say I am superstitious but I do like to follow certain routines on the day of the game and before a game so if you consider following the same pattern superstitious then I guess I am!

PU: What helped influence your decision to leave Northeastern after your junior year and sign with the Penguins?

BT: I think it was just the fact that I wanted to move on to the next level and the next challenge in my hockey career. My goal has always been to play in the NHL and my college career helped me along that path and the opportunity to sign with the Penguins was too good to pass up.


PU: What is it like to go from bouncing between Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre in the beginning of the season to now being the go-to goalie in Wilkes Barre?

BT: It wasn't easy at the beginning of the year that's for sure. From not playing very often here in Wilkes Barre to being sent down to Wheeling it was a little bit frustrating at first but it gave me the opportunity to play more games. Then when I was called back up and was given more time to play I was probably more prepared which was a good thing.

PU: What does “being focused” mean for you? During the day of a game, does it mean thinking about the game or not thinking about the game?

BT: Being focused for me means trying to be relaxed, not over thinking about the game because I think that can get you in trouble sometimes, you spend too much of your energy thinking instead of just being relaxed and playing hockey. I am not a goalie that sticks to themselves before a game and not talk to anyone, I like to be relaxed and try to have fun.


PU: Have you ever gone out on the ice and felt unprepared? Maybe the day didn’t go right and you’re not as prepared as you’d like to be?

BT: Definitely there are times when you go on the ice and you just don't feel right or you don't feel prepared. You are not going to be at your best every single night as much as you would like to be. Those are the games that you just have to battle and try your best to not think about it and help your team win.

PU: Is there a trick to shaking off a bad goal?

BT: There is no trick per say it's all about your mindset and trying to put it behind you. It's not that easy to do, when you let in a bad goal you feel as though you let the team down and you want to make it up but you have to focus on the next shot because that is what helps make a good goaltender, having a short memory.

PU: Why the number 39?

BT: Pretty much I just liked the way it looked. I am not a Dominik Hasek fan so it wasn't because of that although I did like Cristobal Huet when he wore 39 so that has something to do with it. I only started wearing it at college after I had asked to wear 33 but it was already taken.




PU: Do you have a favorite moment that sticks in your mind since you've turned pro?

BT: Well it definitely would have to be being along for the ride last year when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup. That was an experience that I will never forget. As for this year I think just the way we were able to go on a pretty good run to clinch a playoff spot after we had a pretty tough stretch in January and things weren't looking so good. We came together as a team and the past 2 months were a lot of fun.




PU: On February 13, 2010 you held Hershey, the best team in the league, to a 5-0 shutout. What went through your head as the final minutes ticked off the clock and the final horn sounded and you were mobbed by your teammates?

BT: That was kind of the start of when we turned our season around so to win that game 5-0 against Hershey was a important game. For me over the last minute I was pretty excited because it was my first shutout in the American Hockey League and to do it against Hershey and at home was special, the crowd always is a little louder for those games so it was a lot of fun.

Thanks Brad for taking out the time!


Good Luck to the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins as the take on the Albany River Rats in their first round of playoff action!

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Talking with Testy

Yes, another fine job from our Pens Universe readers leads to another great interview! Here is Wilkes Barre Scranton and future Penguin, Mark Letestu! Enjoy!

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PU: Did you have a favorite team or player growing up? If so, which team or what player was that?

ML: My favorite team growing up was Montreal, my dad was a fan so of course i had to become one as well. My favorite player was Saku Koivu, he was a guy i have always looked up to.

PU: What would you say is your favorite AHL arena to compete in?

ML: Of course I enjoy Wilkes-Barre, that's a given, but outside playing at home I enjoy playing in Norfolk not sure why but I always seem to do pretty well in that building.

PU: What's the hardest part about going from the AHL to the NHL in regards to play of the game and lifestyle?

ML: The hardest part for me was the speed of plays the guys made, the actual skating speed wasn't a big problem but how fast scoring chances develop and players were able to execute on those opportunities, the chance to recover from missed steps or misreads is a split second. As it goes for lifestyle it's the pre game meals, chicken, steak, fish, so many options, in the American league its pasta and meatballs, better get used to it.


PU: I think it's safe to say all Penguins fans have noticed your impeccable face off skills. What makes you so good at winning face offs?

ML: Well thanks, a whole lot of cheating is probably the key to being good at face offs, being a smaller center it can be tough to beat some bigger centers with just straight up strength on strength, so any advantage I can get with stick and skate position I gotta take it, and also make nice with the linesmen they seem to give breaks to guys that don't tell them they suck all the time.

PU: How does it feel to be considered one of leaders on the team when you are named one of the Alternate Captains? Is there any extra pressure?

ML: It's always a nice feeling when your coaches and teammates choose you as a leader, its an honor and a privilege that I am pretty proud of. As for pressure I don't feel any extra pressure, the role doesn't mean I gotta be any different a player from what has gotten me to this point in my career.

PU: When losing a player like Luca Caputi, what do you guys as a team have to do to keep the same mentality as before the trade with under 20 games left in the regular season?

ML: We all know Luca was our leading goal scorer at the time and that he was a big part of our team, that being said we also understand that the goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and sometimes the AHL team is gonna lose some key components in order to get some pieces to win it. That being said it is an exciting time for other guys to step into more responsible roles and become the go to guys and fill some of the minutes that Luca occupied.

PU: Alright let’s go back to February 1st, your first NHL goal against the Buffalo Sabres , can you describe your feelings before, during and after?

ML: It is probably the coolest thing that has ever happened to me, the feelings at the time was holy crap I just scored, let out a bunch of man screams. When I got back to the bench I was so tired from all the hollering and celebrating I needed a solid 2 to 3 minutes to settle down again. Now I get a chance to reflect and its an emotional moment for my family and friends, a lot of people made a lot of sacrifices to help that moment happen, I am extremely proud of it.

PU: Speaking of scoring goals, you are known for having some “unreal” goal celebrations, are they planned or spur of the moment? Do they have names?

ML: That's funny, no I never have planned them and definitely have never named one. I just enjoy the game and I get pretty amped up, whatever happens, happens, hopefully the fans like em, I just hope I never slip and fall embarrass myself or anything.


PU: You have to know that us hardcore fans give all players nicknames. So, rather than us making one up like "Marky Mark", what would you prefer to be called; what do you want your fans writing on their signs?

ML: I don't get a lot of signs, but my teammates call me Testy or Lester, both of those I will answer to, "Marky Mark" not so much but the last guy that had that name is doing alright, so who knows might be a good thing.


PU: In your opinion, who is the most humorous guy on the team and why?

ML: To me it is Wade Brookbank, he doesn't tell a lot of jokes or anything but he's pretty quick and he's got some good timing with the stuff that he says, probably gets me to laugh couple times a day with out ever trying to.


PU: Mark? huge fan. Listen, I will get half of my section (104) to contribute $100 a week to you if you stay in the W-B. What are your thoughts on that?

ML: Well that's awfully kind of you, and section 104, but you guys can keep your cash, I am hoping to be a Penguin one way or another for awhile, both cities and the whole organization have all been awesome to me and my family. That's a pretty good bribe though you should keep that deal waiting around and maybe you can lure some nice free agents this offseason.


PU: What do you love most about the sport of hockey?

ML: My favorite part is scoring and that it seems like there is an endless way for it to happen, every year someone somewhere seems to score a goal that still makes our mouths drop. Hopefully it can be me to make that happen in the near future.

As always, Thank you Mark for allowing us the time!








Here is a little taste of Letestu's goal celebrations

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Have a Question for Chris Conner?

Yes folks, we need your input again! Wilkes Barre Scranton and future Pittsburgh Penguin Chris Conner has agreed to allow us to steal some of his time!

We are asking of our PensU readers, again, to jot down some questions you would like us to ask him! All you have to do is post your question in the comment sections below!

Readers whom post a question will be randomly selected to win an awesome PU gift! So get those brains going and fingers typing!

Thank you!!

LET'S GO PENS!

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Pens Universe Interview's ESPN's E.J. Hradek

The following is a transcript of a telephone interview between Damian Romano and E.J. Hradek which took place on 1/28/2010. E.J. Hradek is a senior writer for ESPN the magazine and also maintains a blog at ESPN.com.

PU: Pens Universe (Damian Romano)  
EJ: EJ Hradek


PU: What team(s) has (have) the best chance at dethroning the Penguins this year and why?

EJ: I would say in the East it would certainly be Washington. The teams played a really tight 7 game series last year. In fact I believe Washington had the lead in the series up 2-0 and the Penguins came back, but it did go 7 games. Clearly Washington has a number of skilled players and I think that’s the Penguins biggest worry in the East.


In the West Chicago has been great and San Jose has been playing great. So those two teams are certainly the best in the West.


But I’d say Washington is their biggest threat since they’re in the same conference. If they meet in the finals together the Caps will be their biggest worry since they can really score goals.

PU: Bottom Line: Can the Penguins repeat? If not, what is their biggest deficiency?

EJ: They absolutely can repeat. I mean they have some world-class players that lead that parade there, so I don’t think it’s any question whether they can repeat if they can stay healthy and perhaps be helped along by some trade deadline addition to help Crosby and Malkin, particularly a winger. Maybe a guy like Ray Whitney from Carolina for example.


What’s their biggest deficiency? I don’t know, they’re very strong in goal with a guy who has already won a Stanley Cup early in his career. Their defense has a nice mixture of puck moving guys and defensive minded guys. I just think right now they’re a little short on the wing with guys who can really play with Sid and Evgeni. That’s something they may be able to take a look at the deadline.


I really like the Penguins though, they really have some high end centers they are really strong at the right positions for the team. I think they’re going to be a hard team to deal with even if they don’t make any changes before the deadline.

PU: Imagine you’re the Penguins GM right now, what moves are you thinking before the deadline?

EJ: Let me first say I think Ray Shero has done an excellent job. Yes he came into a situation with some highly skilled young players, but I think he has a real good grasp on the big picture and has made so many good moves that I just don’t think he gets enough credit.


For me if I was out there I think I’d be looking for another guy who I could put on the top 2 lines on the wing. And Ray has been able to acquire guys like that in the last two seasons and I think he has a real good chance at adding a guy like that this year.


PU: Earlier this season you in fact spoke with Penguins GM Ray Shero and asked which prospects would have a chance to crack the roster. With all the injuries to the Penguins early this season we had a chance to see a ton of them. Given your experience as a scout who is the best prospect you’ve seen thus far?

EJ: Boy that’s a tough. I would simply have to say I just haven’t seen the guys enough. And there’s different levels of prospects within an organization. You got guys who you have that you expect to play that you want them to develop slowly, the kid they got from Anaheim last year, Tangradi, He’s a guy they really have higher expectations for. Then you have other guys in your system like Chris Conner who’s an older guy who came up and had a big game against the Rangers the other night. So I think they have a wide variety of different level prospects. But having not seen them enough its hard for me to give you an accurate feel for where they’re at.


I don’t want to mislead you by trying to give you a good explanation of where they’re at because I haven’t seen the guys enough. In these cases is when I’ll call Ray and get his take on their progress.

PU:  With Sid, Geno, Gonchar the Penguins are somehow bottom dwellers on the power play. What is the biggest issue there and who do you blame for their failures?

EJ: Well its funny because I talked with Dan Bylsma the other night about that very topic and he said they’ve been coming around. He just feels they’ve been a little too stationary, a little too easy to play against. He feels when they play stationary its not to their strengths being such high end players.


I’d be interested in seeing the numbers over the last 6, 7, or 8 games and watch it over the next 6, 7, or 8 games and see if there’s improvement. Sometimes you start off badly and that number is low, but if you don’t go inside that number and break out the last few games you can be mislead. So its something they’re certainly working on constantly. The good news is we already know they’re a good 5 on 5 team and I think we’ve already seen you don’t have to be dynamic on the powerplay to win…. but…it’s a big help. But I’ll be interested in seeing if they improve before the Olympic break.


PU: I have a tendency to think they might have too much talent and defer to one another a lot. Do you agree?

EJ: I think they tend to try to be too cute sometimes with passes. That’s what happens sometimes when you have such highly skilled players they have a tendency to want to make the really nice plays and while that’s great when it happens, sometimes its just better to play simple.


PU: Is the Penguins 3rd line (Staal, Kennedy, Cooke) the best in the NHL?

EJ: Its really hard to say when you don’t see all the teams 3rd lines play a lot. I see a lot of teams play I just don’t see all their games. And when you’re talking about the 3rd line you’re talking more about the subtleties they bring to the game.


I’ll say this, the Penguins get an awful lot out of those guys. They’re very lucky to have a guy of the stature of Jordan Staal on your 3rd line. On most teams he’s either your 1st or 2nd line center. I just think the world of Jordan. He’s the type of guy you want to have on your team if you want to win. He adapts well to different rolls and he can really raise his level of play in situations as needed.


Matt Cooke has a really well defined roll as kind of a pest/agitator, kind of an energy player. Tyler Kennedy has been a guy who has been able to come up with big plays in big games over the last year or two and I think he’s continuing to get better.

So I think it’s a really good line, but the key is Jordan Staal is a really good player. He’s kind of a selfless player who certainly has the ability to do more but given the nature of the roster the Penguins have.


I’ll say this, when I was picking my Olympic roster I’d have in on Team Canada roster.



PU: Speaking of Matt Cooke, you once called him a dirty player following his 2 game suspension against the Rangers earlier this season. I won’t necessarily argue that, it’s sort of a prerequisite for the job of an agitator. With that said who’s your pick for the dirtiest player in the NHL?

EJ: I got to be honest I’ve always said there’s no angels out there on the nice. It’s a tough game out there. I don’t think there are many accidents. I think the guys who do what they do know it and know who they’re doing it to. I don’t know if there is a single dirtiest guy. I’m not going to back of my feeling about Matt, I think at times he goes over the edge in games which I think were really questionable decisions on his part. But again he has a very well defined roll and he’s getting paid to play a certain way. And it’s a tough job for a guy like him to play that roll and even all the guys around the league who play that roll. He’s been very successful in Pittsburgh so far and I think they’re very happy with him.

PU: Thinking ahead, how realistic do you think it will be to keep their core (Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury) together for the duration?


EJ: Well they are together for the foreseeable future. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I know Ray has locked these guys up for at least the next several years. But things then again things change, circumstances might dictate things as time goes on. The team is moving into a new arena next year and that may be a way for them to stay motivated. But I think it all goes back to Ray Shero and the staff doing a good job at making decisions about singing their key players and filling in around them. So it looks like they’re going to be around for a little while.


PU: If Sidney Crosby didn’t play another hockey game, is he a Hall of Famer?

EJ: Well, I mean its awfully hard to vote a guy in the Hall of Fame for only playing 4 years. So I would say if he didn’t play another hockey game I would have a hard time voting for him. But certainly Sidney Crosby, I watched him against the Rangers and I’m just more impressed every time I see him.


I would say he more of a complete player for the simple fact that he works just as hard on defense as he does with the puck in the offensive zone. He’s getting better all the time, he’s still a really young guy. You know he wasn’t good at the face off and he practiced and worked on it and he got good at it now. They say he wasn’t scoring enough goals and now he’s on pace for a 50 goal season.


If I was starting a team he’d be the first guy I’d take because I value centers so much more than wingers. If I was paying to see a game I’d probably pay to see Ovechkin but if I was starting a team from scratch I’d take Sidney Crosby first.

Your picks for the Olympics (Gold, Silver, Bronze).

EJ: Canada, Russia, and I’ll go with USA. I think Canada and Russia will be in that last game and I think the USA because the games are here in North America and will pose an advantage for them along with their goaltending.

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Ask a Pittsburgh Penguin!

Ever wanted to ask a NHL player a question? Well here is your chance! Pens Universe has received the opportunity to interview Pens up and coming blue liner Ben Lovejoy and we want you, the readers, to get involved!

All you have to do is post your question in the comment section below!

I'm looking forward to see what you guys come up with!

LET'S GO PENS!

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