Question Session with Kieran Friesan

Hey Silvertip fans! I’m Erica Hachey and I’ll be interviewing players throughout the year to help you get to know your Everett Silvertips.  My first victim is 19-year-old rookie defensemen Kieren Friesen.  

Erica Hachey: What do you like most about Everett?

Kieren Friesen: Right away I noticed the weather.  Living in BC, you always wake up in the winter and have to go scrape the car window and its -20C (-4F).  Here it’s nice, I like the rain.

EH: What do you miss most about your home town?

KF: Mostly I miss all my buddies and the guys I grew up with. It’s always pretty exciting to go see them in the off season.

EH: How did you get into playing hockey and how old were you?

KF: I started as early as I could, I think I was five or six, but I’ve loved hockey ever since I was a little baby. I would always watch hockey games with my dad and being Canadian it’s just something you do.  If you’re a young kid, you play hockey.

EH: What is your most embarrassing hockey memory?

KF: That’s a pretty easy one, it was my first year playing Major Junior Hockey. I was 16 and playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings, and I think the game was either on Sportsnet or Shaw. Either way, I fell on the red line and they went down and scored the tying goal and ended up winning the game. And everyone saw it since it was on TV.

EH: What is your favorite hockey moment?

KF: Probably back with my old bantam team when we won provincials. That was pretty exciting

EH: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?

KF: I kind of do, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t get around to them.  I like to lace up the left skate before the right and I have certain stretches that I like to do, but I’m not overly superstitious.

EH: If you weren’t playing hockey what type of career would you have?

KF: I’m not sure actually, I haven’t put too much thought into it. As far as schooling or a career, but I think that being a firefighter seems kind of suitable.

EH: What’s your favorite thing to do in the off season?

KF: Most of my time in the off season is spent working out and playing hockey, but I guess it’s really good to see all your old friends and the faces that you grew up with.”

EH: Which NHL player would you compare your style of play to?

KF: I’d like to say Chris Pronger. I’m not quite as mean as him but growing up, coaches I had all said I should try and play like him. I don’t have the best hands or goal scoring abilities, but as long as you’re hard to play against it makes it difficult for the other team to produce.

EH: What is your favorite pre-game meal?

KF: The best for you or my favorite?

EH: Well, how about what do you normally eat?

KF: I would probably go with pasta and chicken. Any hockey player has had that meal one too many times.

EH: Who is the most entertaining teammate on the bus?

KF: Probably on the bus and just in general I would go with Clayton Cumiskey.  He always has a big goofy grin on his face and is cracking jokes, so it’s good to have someone like that around during a long bus ride.

EH: If you could create your ultimate fantasy NHL team, who would you chose for your starting lineup?

KF: Chris Pronger for sure on defense, then put him with Drew Doughty. Then up front probably Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, and Alex Ovechkin and probably Antti Niemi in goal.

EH: What’s the most embarrassing song on your iPod?

KF: I actually have a lot of embarrassing music, I don’t really pass my iPod around because its pretty bad.  Probably anything by Death Cab for Cutie is pretty bad just because of the name itself

EH: Well that’s all I have for you today, we’ll be hearing from you again soon!

KF: Thanks! I’m looking forward to it.