Last year, when you chose to come here instead of going to the NCAA, did anything make that decision easy at all?

I knew we had a good chance at making it last year, honestly, and I want to be a pro hockey player, not a college hockey player, and this is probably the best route for that.

Go back to when the Maineiacs first drafted you. Did you know what this was all about?

I had some knowledge of what was going on, what the league was all about, but not really. Compared to now, though, no way. But it wasa good learning experience, and I’m glad I made the decision I did.

What did you guys have to do at the beginning of this season to refocus after such a successful run last year?

It’s hard to come back and do it again, but we need to focus, realize that we can play with any team in this league, that we can beat them. Once we start believing that, you’ll see us in the Memorial Cup again.

The core of this defense is still just 18, and it’s like you’ve become an elder statesman here already. What’s that like?

This year, it’s more of knowing what’s going to happen, what buildings are hard to play in, what to expect from certain teams and players, and you have to pass that along to the younger players, the newer guys.

What are some of the differences in practice this year compared to last year?

Last year we had longer practices, more drills, more stuff. This year, we’re concentrating going for an hour, hour-and-30-minutes and going as hard as you can, which is more like game situations.