Talk about your strongest asset in net?

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2 The Beginning Beyond the Boards: How did you get your start in hockey? Jonas Hiller: My parents were both always into sports, the first place we lived was right next to an ice rink. Have you always been a goalie? Hiller: No, I actually played forward for a while. I started playing goalie when I was 12. The training Do you feel like goalies are a different breed of hockey players? What attitude or personality makes a strong goaltender? Curtis McElhinney: I think we are very focused. For the most part we are always hardworking. We all have our routines that we like to get used to; I think goalies more so than players. Sometimes it gets a little crazy, but each guy has his own routine that helps him get ready. Hiller: Yes, definitely. I don t think we are as crazy as we used to be, where a goalie was a totally different guy. You do have to be able to really focus at the right moment. Sometimes all you can think about is hockey and you kind of forget the stuff around you, then it seems like goalies are in a different world. Before a game, do you prepare pregame differently than forwards or defenseman, mentally and physically? McElhinney: Mentally I just keep to myself. I know forwards and defenseman are a little more outgoing. They like to talk amongst each other, but for me it s pretty silent beforehand. I like to play soccer to warm-up, but other than that I keep to myself. Talk about your strongest asset in net? McElhinney: I like to play big, play my angles, stay on top of the crease and try to block as many pucks as I can. Hiller: I think my consistency. I find a way to play well almost every night. The last couple of years I was never really in a slump; I always find a way to come back. Can you walk us through a slap-shot? How do you properly track a slap-shot and make the save? Hiller: First and most important is that you see the puck or see the shooter. Sometimes with traffic you just have to start by finding the puck. Then you try to get into the right position and not give up too much for him to shoot on. Then it s all about reading the player: how his stick looks and where he is going to shoot. Then you decide if you go down or not and try to make the save. The NHL Who has the hardest shot on the Ducks? The NHL? McElhinney: Visnovsky has a pretty hard shot. Hopefully for me in practice he s hitting it right in the pocket or he s missing the net. In the NHL, Souray was the hardest shot I can remember, other than that I don t have too many nightmares about other players yet. Who has the most accurate shot on the Ducks? The NHL? McElhinney: Bobby Ryan seems to be able to hit a spot any time he wants to if you give him time; he always gives me a hard time in practice. In the NHL, Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings) just seems to flip the puck and it seems to hit a spot every time. He is one of those players who always impresses me. Scan here to watch Jonas Hiller in action.

3 Beyond the Boards: Is there a particular player in the NHL that is always hard to defend on a breakaway? McElhinney: There are so many amazing guys that you don t get an opportunity to see some of the moves they have in the game, but I ve seen Mike Ribeiro (Dallas Stars) do some pretty impressive moves. I know we have some pretty impressive guys here on the Ducks. I m thankful that I m on their side and don t have to face them. Scan here to watch Curtis McElhinney in action. Hiller: There are tons of them. The last time I remember that I wasn t even able to react was Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals). When he came in for the shot, it went in a hole. Luckily, he hit the crossbar. The shot was so quick I wasn t even able to react. Is there a particularly tough building to play in? McElhinney: I ve always found Vancouver a difficult building to play in. When you play there you know it is going to be a challenge, so you get more prepared for it. Hiller: You definitely hear it. It s always great to play at home. As soon as you get on the road, it s always tougher. I definitely think that when there is a rivalry like in Los Angeles or San Jose, the fans are hard to play in front of, they spurn you. But it s always fun to win in those situations. The success Can you pinpoint a game that you felt like you played really well? What made the difference in that game? McElhinney: Probably the first game I got the opportunity to start in this year in Philadelphia against the Flyers. I don t know exactly why, it was just one of those things, we were all excited for it because we were coming off a loss. I wanted to get in there and make a good impression. I don t know what made the difference for me but it seemed to work out pretty well. Hiller: I think at the end, it s just about being out there and feeling comfortable with it. In certain games you kind of feel big, you feel like nothing goes through and everything is hitting you. It s all about the mental game with goaltending. If you feel mentally good it s always easier to stop the pucks; pucks are suddenly going to hit you or pucks are going to bounce your way. To our fans out there that will never be able to play goalie, what s it like in net? McElhinney: It s one of the most enjoyable things that I could think of doing. It s a ton of fun, whether you are sitting on the bench getting to take a part in it or you are out there on the ice playing every night It s a true thrill. It s nice to have that pressure on your shoulders. The advice Beyond the Boards: Can you give our youth hockey goalies some advice on how to advance their games? McElhinney: It s a long road, so stay focused and have fun with it. Enjoy the process because sometimes you just need to be a beneficiary of some good breaks. Beyond the Boards: Is there anything in particular that they should work on and continue improving on? McElhinney: I d say angles. Stay focused on making sure you are on the right angle. Play big, don t get pushed back in your net and try to control as many rebounds as you can.

4 Goaltenders have the unique opportunity to express themselves artistically through their helmets. Beyond the Boards took a chance to get an inside look into the creativity and artistry that went into all of their past helmets. JONAS HILLER Basic Duck The only funny thing about it are those orange stripes. Actually my painter came up with that. He said it looked too normal before and he thought that would make it look a little crazy, a little different. The Symbol The orange part is kind of the Matterhorn, Swiss mountains with the Zodiac sign. There s the big D on the forehead. On the other side there is the old Ducks logo being smashed by a puck with the new Ducks logo. Bowling Ball We just wanted to try some different colors on it. It wasn t my favorite, but it worked out Swiss Cross This is probably my favorite mask. It s so cool that you can see from far away the big Swiss cross, but you still have the details. I like the Cross ear holes and all the details the artist put on it. CURTIS MCELHINNEY Hot Rod This has the two-color theme. The artist and I kind of wanted to go a little hot rod style. We couldn t decide between white and black so we just decided to go half and half. Darth Hiller It was kind of a prototype thing because we changed the shell of the mask a little for this year. The painter pretty much just painted it flat black, then we put some gold Ducks logos and a gold Swiss Cross. I thought it looked pretty cool with the gold cage, looked different The Cowboy The skull has a white cowboy hat, it s kind of a big deal in Calgary. The skull theme was mostly the artist s idea. It was supposed to be a three year project where we went from a skull to a skull that kind of had some skin on his face with some holes in it to an almost completely Clint Eastwood type guy by the end of it. Dante s Inferno We took the quote on top from there. The helmet was kind of the artist s interpretation of it. You know its fun, you come to him you show him an idea and he either tells you he likes it, we ll work on it or he tells you go back to the drawing board and come up with something better. The Demon It was basically the same thing, we wanted to take the character from my last Calgary one and kind of build on him a little bit, make him a little scarier and have his hands wrapping around the sides. The rest of the stuff was all the artist s idea coming down the jaw line.

5 NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made a trip to Southern California in January. He took the opportunity to soak in some exciting hockey and even answer a few questions for Beyond the Boards about his perception of hockey in Southern California. Beyond the Boards: Since 1993 when your tenure as NHL commissioner began, what strides have you seen in Southern California hockey? In your opinion how did the Wayne Gretzky trade impact hockey in Southern California? Gary Bettman: Well there is no doubt that hockey is growing dramatically in Southern California. I have seen growth in terms of fan interest, the number of people actually playing the game and the number of rinks available where people can play. I would suggest that that era of hockey growth was spurred on and stimulated by the attention and success that Wayne Gretzky brought to Southern California when he played for the Los Angeles Kings. I don t think anybody could ever minimize the impact he has had on the dramatic growth the game has had here in Southern California. Beyond the Boards: Can you explain the significance of the Anaheim Ducks being the first California team to win the Stanley Cup? Does that impact the way the rest of North America views West Coast hockey? Bettman: I think the impact can t be overstated. It really suggested to people that hockey could be played in Southern California, in the sun-belt, at the highest level. It proved that you could bring a championship to your community. What was equally important was to see the fan reaction here - the enthusiasm that people in Orange County had for both the Ducks and hockey, and that is something that has sustained since. I think when people look at Southern California they understand that hockey has an important role here. Bennett. So there is no question that hockey at the youth level is thriving and players are developing. Beyond the Boards: For our young players and fans interested in the business side of hockey what are some of the perks of being the commissioner of the NHL? For example, you get to hand the Stanley Cup to the Captain of each championship team every season. Bettman: Obviously the best thing I get to do is hand out the Stanley Cup. It is the best trophy in all of sports; it s a great honor to be associated with it and to have the responsibility to hand it out. I also get to associate with the best group of people in all of sports and I get to go to games any time I want and get halfway decent seats. Beyond the Boards: Can you ever see the Winter Classic coming west to California? Bettman: Well, that s something that we aren t ready to tackle right now. The Winter Classic is significant not only because we are playing outside, but because the game counts. With the great competitive balance we are seeing every point matters; teams are going to make or miss the playoffs by one to two points. So we have to make sure that the game conditions are credible. When it gets warmer than 50 or 55 degrees it is hard to maintain the ice. We came about as close as I want to come this year in Pittsburgh when it was raining and it started around 50 degrees. Fortunately, as the game went on the temperature dropped. I think there would be risks to playing an outdoor game in Southern California. Beyond the Boards: What advice can you give to youth players looking to take their game to the next level? Bettman: Like with anything in life: work hard, do things that you are passionate about and always try your best. Scan here to view the GOAL facebook page and watch Gary Bettman s interview. Beyond the Boards: With players like Bobby Ryan and most recently Emerson Etem who were born or trained in Southern California, do you see the hockey world considering California as a fertile training ground for NHL players? Bettman: I don t think there is any doubt that Southern California is a fertile training ground for hockey players. I think something like 28 players since 2001 have been drafted into the NHL from California. There were 12 players drafted in the last four years and two players in the first round of the last draft Emerson Etem and Beau

6 DAN SEXTON Beyond the Boards caught up with Ducks right-winger, Dan Sexton, to ask him about his youth hockey background, his thoughts on California youth hockey and his path to the NHL. The up-and-comer has battled injury this season, but hopes to add some fire power as the Ducks make a push for the playoffs. Talk about what the youth hockey scene was like growing up in Minnesota? Dan Sexton: It s pretty good, kids start young around 5 or 6 years old. There is a good system in which you kind of work your way up from Mites to Squirts, Pee Wee, Bantam and then high school hockey. Mites up through Bantams, you are kind of working your way up, trying to make your high school team. The kids that end up making it, you end up being really close to because you ve played with them since you were really young. What are your thoughts on California youth hockey? Did you play against any California hockey teams? Sexton: In high school I absolutely did, we played against the LA Junior Kings, who had really good teams. I also have some experience playing against a couple good buddies who are from California. One is from Hollywood and one from Long Beach, and both are still good friends. How did you decide to choose Bowling Green over Canadian juniors? Sexton: For me, it was easy. I had always wanted to play college, growing up watching the Minnesota Gophers. I also wanted to get an education and have my school paid for. That was kind of my number one goal, so when I was able to achieve that at Bowling Green it was a good fit for me, in a good conference. They also have a great education system. It was a really easy decision for me to choose college over juniors, especially being American. How do you overcome your size? Sexton: For smaller guys, you want to make sure that you are quick, and maybe a little smarter than the big guys. You definitely don t get down on yourself just because you are kind of small. I was told my whole way up that I was too small, even at 8 or 9 years old people were telling me that. You just got to listen to the people that really believe in you. Where do you see USA Hockey in 10 years? Sexton: I think it is growing and getting much better. I know in California, it is getting huge. I think I saw something like their used to be 1 or 2 high school teams and now there are over 5. It is cool to see how it is growing, and I know the Ducks are part of that. I hope that we have a decent say in helping kids learn about hockey. As far as USA in general, when you watch the Olympics or the US juniors and see how well the Americans did, it is hard to not assume that they will just get more and more competitive. It is really cool to see! What advice do you have for youth hockey players in Southern California? Sexton: Having fun is the biggest thing. For me, all the way up to about 15 was about having fun. You don t want to get in the weight room and burn yourself out. You want to play different sports, you want to make sure you are trying to be the best athlete that you can because those are the guys that make it in hockey. You want to make sure that every time you go on the ice, you re chomping at the bit. I was always looking forward to going on the ice at 6am in -30 degree temperatures. The kids here in California are lucky, they have beautiful weather! Do you have any tips on how kids can take their game to the next level? Sexton: I go to one clinic a year, and pick one part of my game and work on it. Whether it was stick handling, skating, shooting, I would go to a clinic for a week or two and focus on that aspect. That way, each year I was improving a part of my game. At the same time, you want to work on the other things as well. I spent a lot of time in my garage, stick handling and shooting pucks for hours up on hours. That s really what it takes. It shouldn t be work for you though. It should be fun. Growing up, did you have any hockey rituals or good luck charms? Sexton: I always put my stuff on left side first. Left shin pad first then left skate first. Little things like going through the game in my head before we play. Also, having a Gatorade and protein bar before the game, really got me in the mind set of playing hockey. It helped me take everything in stride instead of being scatter brained. What was your favorite piece of hockey gear growing up? Sexton: My Mario Lemieux jersey was really important to me. I still have it hanging over my bed. That s something that I always thought was really cool. As far as equipment, I d have to say skates. My first pair of skates, I probably didn t get until I was in Bantams. My parents always got me used skates until that point. I didn t get the newest stuff every year, like you see some of the kids with these days, but I did have a lot of hand me down type stuff. Those first new skates, the Bauer 3000 s were always special to me.

7 2011 World Juniors Recap On January 5, Ducks prospects Emerson Etem and Kyle Palmieri were awarded bronze medals with Team USA at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships. Both players were selected to be a part of the team in December and had the opportunity to face-off against the best junior players (ages 20 and under) in the world from December 21 through January 5 in Buffalo, New York. Etem and Palmieri took this opportunity to showcase their skills as Etem tore up the ice using his speed, while Palmieri provided the U.S. with much needed firepower. The preliminary game against Slovakia was both of the player s strongest game as Palmieri led Team USA with two first period goals and an assist and Etem also tallied a goal. Palmieri finished the tournament tied as the scoring leader for the U.S. with six points (two goals and four assists). Two of those assists came in the critical bronze medal game, helping the US to medal for the second year in a row. The bronze medal was proof that the U.S. is continuing to develop strong players as this medal marked the seventh medal in U.S. National Junior Team history, and fourth in the last eight years. The Ducks look forward to continued contributions from both Etem and Palmieri in the future as they continue to prepare for the NHL. Adult Hockey Tournament The Anaheim Ducks G.O.A.L. Hockey Program and USA Hockey are teaming up to host the inaugural Anaheim Ducks Throw-Back Classic Adult Hockey Tournament. The 12-team tournament will be held at Westminster Ice on Friday, Feb , Saturday, February 19th and Sunday, February 20. The semi-finals and finals will be held at Anaheim Ice on Monday, February 21. The tournament will be non-contact with each team playing a minimum of three games. The tournament champions will have the opportunity to play the Anaheim Ducks Alumni All-Star team at Honda Center before the Ducks vs. Avalanche game on Sunday, February 27. Alumni members include Guy Hebert, Craig Johnson, JF Jomphe, Mike Leclerc, Jason Marshall, Sean Pronger, Steve Shields and more. After the game, both the tournament champion team and alumni players will watch the Ducks game from a catered suite. A minimum of 10 players must register per team, with a maximum of 16. All participants in the tournament will receive a long-sleeve tournament shirt, ticket to the February 27 game and additional USA Hockey merchandise. Entry fee will be $149 per player or $1,800 per team. For more information, or to register, go to Scan here to watch Kyle Palmieri discuss playing in the World Juniors.

8 Against what team was Bobby Ryan s first career hat trick? m Tampa Bay Lightning m Los Angeles Kings m St. Louis Blues Ryan Getzlaf holds the Ducks record for most playoff assists in one season (2009), how many assists did he have? m 13 m 14 m 15 Which NHL team did Lubomir Visnovsky start his NHL career with? m Edmonton Oilers m New York Rangers m Phoenix Coyotes m Los Angeles Kings Cam Fowler: What is the best concert you have been to? (Brooke, Sherman Oaks) Jack Johnson What music is currently on in your car? (Sam, Aliso Niguel) Lil Wayne What is your favorite color? (Jen, Corona Del Mar) Blue George Parros: What is your favorite thing to cook? (Dylan, Newport Beach) Grilled Lame Do you play any instruments? (Thomas, Tustin) The Harmonica for exclusive content and videos like our facebook page at To view the answers, ask a player a question or leave a comment for Beyond the Boards, visit us online at: