Talk about the added pressure of being on a team of which your father is also the general manager. Does that wear on you a little bit, and how have you been able to deal with that?

Honestly, I’ve done it my whole life. He’s been involved in probably every hockey thing I’ve ever done. There’s always people who will say, ‘Oh, you’re just there because of your dad.’ But I’m not a little kid anymore, I’m 18 years old. And the guys here, the coaches, they’re going to let me know if I should be out there or not. All the guys in there support me, and my dad supports me too. I work hard and I know I deserve to be here. That’s all that matters.

How hard is it to overcome the fact that, especially as a defenseman, you’re one of the smaller players on the ice at all times?

It’s difficult, but that’s another thing I’ve had to do my whole life. But you’ve got to pick your battles. You can’t go in there like Sam Finn does and just outmuscle the guy and beat him up, because that’s just not going to work. You’ve got to pick your battles. I have to try and stay between the forward and the net and just try to ease the puck off of him. I can’t just go in there a hundred miles an hour. If I go back there and get the puck, I take hits like everyone else, so that’s normal for me, I guess.

Talk about developing the offensive side of your game, given the limitations we’ve already talked about. Was that almost a necessity?

Last year, I had a struggle in my mind. I kind of came into the league expecting something else and that it wasn’t going to be as hard as it was. It’s kind of a grind. I think I’ve realized that and I’m playing with a bit more confidence now and carrying the puck. I know that I can do it, it’s just a matter of believing in myself, working hard and practicing enough.

Where do you see this career arc of yours taking you?

Everybody wants to be in the NHL, but that’s not how it always works. Everyone always dreams of playing professional hockey. I still have dreams of playing professional hockey. But I’m really just trying to get the most out of the game that I can, try to have fun and along the way improve my game and see where it takes me. Hopefully someday I can go to college and play hockey and get four years of college out of it. That would be great.

Talk about being a part of this group of players. How special is this bunch?

They’re all great guys in there. I can honestly say there’s not one bad guy in that locker room. I like them all, Everyone is liked. As you see, we have guys like (Sam) Henley, (Cameron) Critchlow and (Sam) Finn and those guys who will block shots with their faces and do whatever it takes for the team. That’s the kind of guys you need on a good team, with everybody out to back each other up. At the beginning of the year, we were real strong, and we kind of dwindled there in the middle part of the season, but we’ve really come together as a team lately, and we’re firing on all cylinders.