“When I was signing here, they were asking me about my leadership qualities and how I feel about helping out young kids. They never really told me that it’s gonna be your role. But I don’t mind it at all. I mean, these guys, I’m playing with them, like, younger than me, and they’re first starting, but they’re all really good hockey players. They all think the game really well. So it makes it easy on me. I’m just sort of there to help them guide along the way. I mean, at the same time, I’m still working on my game, trying to get better every day and learning off these guys, what they can do helps me as well. So I really enjoyed my experience with all of them. Brzustewicz, Parekh, Morin, all of them. There have been great hockey players, great guys. So I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

“I think we talked about how we need to talk throughout the whole game. We need to communicate with each other on the ice, on the bench, talk about plays. I think that builds confidence when you hear your d-partner’s voice and know he’s there for you to help and stuff. I think it’s all just clicking and I knew he’s offensively skilled. He has that touch. Not as much as I have that touch. So I’m trying to get him the puck as much as I can in the offensive zone. He understands that. He also understands that my game is maybe a bit better suited in the d-zone than his, so we work off each other really well.”

“He brings a lot of energy. Almost too much energy. Sometimes we were just telling him to pipe down a little bit. But I would rather have a guy that’s loud than quiet. I love the guy so far. He’s been great when we’ve played together and we just get better and better each period.”

“Just how quick they move the puck and how smart they are with it and just being a pro. Especially off ice. Just how they do things, how they prepare for games, how they eat, even hydrate before games. That’s the big thing I’ve been trying to get.”

“In pro hockey, you have to look after yourself as well. That’s just part of the business. If you’re not going to look after yourself, no one really is. So my main focus is always gonna be myself. I want to get better. I want to play in the NHL. That’s my goal. But I know I have a role as a leader and a role to help these younger guys out that are getting their first step in, and I take pride in that role, and I try to do the best I can. When I see something that needs to be said, I say it; I’m not scared about hurting someone’s feelings or anything. But at the same time, I’ve got to focus on myself, make sure I’m doing the right things, because if I’m playing bad, I can’t really give advice to other people when you’re not playing well. So I’m trying to play confidence, trying to play hard, and when I’m feeling good, help out the guy beside me.”

“Yeah, you know what? He’s basically played with one of our younger players the entirety of the season. He’s a really good communicator. He’s going to be able to help with all those little details and areas in the game. If Zayne has any questions in game or on the bench, it’s nice. You have a left shot and a right shot and Cheech (Cicek) has the ability to play both sides but I still think he’s better on his left side. My message to him was to communicate, get the kid the puck and be a good partner for him.” 

“He’s great. He’s always positive. He’s helping me out there too. He’s talking to me and you know, a super energetic guy. Has a lot of juice at all times. So it’s really easy to play with him.”

“It’s been great. First of all, he’s a great guy. I really enjoy spending my time outside of the hockey rink with him as well. He’s really nice. Great human being. And then obviously, the skill on the ice is just… There’s not many guys that can do what he can do on the ice. It’s a lot of fun to play with someone like that. I know my role being on that d-pairing, get him the puck in the o-zone, let him do his thing and I try to support where I can.”