Q&A with Jared Hauf
Defenseman Jared Hauf will play his fifth season with the T-Birds this coming season. Last season Jared played 68 games scoring four goals and 14 assists for 18 points with 105 penalty minutes. Over the last four seasons with the T-Birds Jared has played 268 of 288 possible games, missing only 20 games in his career thus far. Jared took some time out of this off-season to answer a few questions for us.
Seattle Thunderbirds: Hi Jared! Thanks for taking some time out of your off-season to answer a few questions for us. How has this off-season been for you so far?
Jared Hauf: The off-season has been really good. Very nice to see and spend time with family and friends.
ST: Have you gone on any trips or plan to go on any?
JH: I was just in Kelowna with a few friends and been on a couple of camping trips with my family which was all really great.
ST: Jamal Watson is now a member of the T-Birds. He grew up in Calgary like you did. Did you two ever match up against each other?
JH: Jamal is a very good friend of mine, I have played with him and against him for years.
ST: Looking back at the past four seasons you have only missed 20 games out of a possible 288. Is there anything special you do to keep yourself so healthy?
JH: I don’t think there is a key; I’ve just been very blessed to be healthy and stay in the lineup.
ST: Last season was pretty good for the T-Birds. What are some things that you think the team needs to do to continue the success on the ice?
JH: Just work hard all season. We have a good group of guys this year who played last year; I think it will be a good year for us.
ST: As a defenseman what do you find to be the most important skill for you to have and always keep improving on?
JH: I think skating is really huge in this league and it only magnifies as you go onto higher levels.
ST: Other than a few guys leaving, the T-Bird roster is staying relatively unchanged this off-season. How important do you think this is as most of you guys have been playing together for a year or more now?
JH: It’s definitely a good thing to have so many guys returning this year. We were a close knit group last year and it can only help us this season.
ST: As one of the veterans on the T-Bird on the roster this upcoming season, does this add pressure to you knowing that all the younger guys look up to you?
JH: I don’t think there’s any pressure. I had that role last year as well, being a young team. I think being a leader is something to take pride in.
ST: Being one of the older guys means you will be gaining more responsibilities as well. What are your thoughts on this?
JH: Yeah, definely more responsiblities being a 20 year old but I’ll look at it no differently than any other year. I’ll play my best and do what I can for the team and my teammates.
ST: What’s your fondest memory from your four seasons in Seattle?
JH: Oh probably way too many to count, but just something about being at the rink with the guys having fun is definitely something I’ll remember.
ST: How do you think the U.S. Division stacks up this coming season?
JH: The U.S. Division always seems to be strong which makes it challenging, but that’s something we can be proud of, setting goals to come out on top of the toughest division.
ST: Have you seen a good summer movie you can recommend to T-Birds fans?
JH: I really enjoyed Southpaw!
ST: Thanks for your time Jared! Enjoy the rest of the off-season, see you at training camp!
JH: Thanks so much, see you soon.
Seattle Thunderbirds Public & Media Relations Intern Ryley Dozier conducted the Q&A with Jared Hauf. The team will be posting Q&A’s during the off-season with T-Birds player.
