I have been practising since I was 4 or 5 years old, but that wasn't really practice. I was just having fun.... I just loved to play hockey.

I'll be the first one to admit my first couple of years I was pretty hard on the refs.

It is so important to me to have my time away from hockey. Obviously, hockey is my passion; I love it. But definitely for me, time away from the rink and time when my mind isn't thinking about hockey is important.

It's not that hard to stay grounded. It's the way I was brought up.

For every whack I've given, I've gotten four or five.

The biggest thing for me is the passion that I've always had for hockey. I remember growing up, no matter what I did in life, my parents always told me to try to do my best at it and be my best. I can say going through different things that passion is the most important part. It's not skills or talent or any of that stuff.

I'd never complain about the attention - ever. I feel very fortunate to be doing what I love to do. Not everyone gets that chance every day. This is just part of it, and it comes down to managing my time to make sure I concentrate on my passion, which is the hockey, and have time away from hockey.