Somebody who's learning how to ice skate for the first time would need skates, a helmet for head protection and elbow pads, because you do fall quite a bit.

As a Canadian it's something you grow up with. Where I'm from in Canada the ground usually freezes in late October and the lake is frozen until late March. We learn to skate at a young age and I learned to skate when I was three. I was on an outdoor rink when I was three-years-old.

It's the one thing that the Devils have always prided themselves on. That comes from recruiting. We try and pick out the players who not only have the on-ice skills, but the off-ice skills too. I think in any job, if you have good people and you work together, you work better.

A good ice hockey player is someone who has good communication skills, is willing to listen and willing to try new things. It's a very technical game and not that easy to pick up. It's a lot of fun but you just have to be patient.

We try to get our quick feet and our hands going for the games and we spend a couple of days in the gym.

There are a lot of leg strains on the inside of the legs. There's a lot of pressure on your legs and knees. Shoulders are another big thing. We play a physical sport and those are the areas that go.

At times it seems as if you're a glorified babysitter with these guys, but they're all really good people. You just want to keep everybody happy. One of the biggest things is to keep the lines of communication open and just to keep everything running as smoothly as possible.