November 2005 Q & A with Roadrunners Defenseman Brad Woods
This Month's Q&A is our first with a player from the 2005-2006 Phoenix Roadrunners, as Defenseman Brad Woods took some time to answer our questions during the 1st intermission of the November 11, 2005th game.
Brad comes to us after playing three seasons with the Tommies of St. Thomas University in New Brunswick. Before that, he played four seasons of Junior hockey in Brampton, Oshawa, and Kitchener. Brad was picked by the Florida Panthers in the 6th round of the 1999 NHL Draft (169th, overall) and was one of the stars of the Canadian television series "Making the Cut".
Q. How did you first get into playing Hockey?
A. Well, I guess my dad kind of introduced me to it. He was a big hockey fan, huge Leaf's fan in Ontario. From a young age, I just got right into it. Q. You started playing about how old?
A. I think I was five or six. Q. What was your favorite team growing up? Was it the Leafs?
A. Yeah, growing up around Toronto, I was always a big Maple Leafs fan. They had some good teams in the early 90's, so it was a good team to cheer for. Q. Where did you play Juniors and what was the experience like?
A. It was great. I got a chance to play for an expansion team in the Ontario Hockey League, the Brampton Battalion, and I got to play for a great coach there, Stan Butler. I played there for almost three full seasons, and had a short stint for Oshawa Playing for the Generals, Then, my over-age year, I started in Kitchener with the Rangers. Q. You were drafted by Florida in '99, while you were still in the Juniors. What was the experience of the draft like?
A. It was great. That was just off of my first year of Junior hockey, and I didn't really have any expectations. I just kind of got a call, about a week before the draft. My agent said I might get picked. It was a great feeling, and It was definitely something that I'll never forget. Q. Was it a tough decision to go on to college, rather then enter the system?
A. It was, but it wasn't. Both my parents are teachers, so an education is highly valued in the family, and it was something I always wanted to do. So, it was good to get my degree and pursue some professional hockey. Q. What was your college playing experience like?
A. It was great. Same thing, just a great coach - Mike Eagles, who played eighteen years in the NHL, and he was our head coach there. Just the atmosphere at a university, in a small university town, can't be beat. We had some unbelievable fans there, as well, so it was awesome. Q. I understand that you were in this hockey reality series called "Making the Cut". What was that show all about?
A. I guess it was to find the best unsigned hockey players in Canada. That's basically what the premise of the show was. It was on CBC, which is a Canadian television network. They just went across Canada, had different tryouts, and eventually cut down to the 68 people they took to make the TV show.
A. It was great. I got to meet a ton of great guys from all over different parts of Canada and I got to stay at a beautiful resort in Vernon, British Columbia, A part of the country I'd never seen, so it was a great experience. Q. And you know Mole from that experience?
A. Mike was actually my roommate on the TV show. There's numerous players that are in the league. Q. And Mole made it to the final line as the goalie?
A. They picked the final six players and Mike was fortunate enough to be in the final six. Q. How did you become involved with the Roadrunners?
A. After I graduated, I started to get some phone calls, and I was fortunate enough to hear from Ron and he said he was interested. I just thought; how could you beat coming to a new team in the East Coast league with great coaches in a great city? Q. What were your first impressions of Phoenix?
A. I love it so far. I mean, the weather is unbelievable. Every day you get up and the sun is shining and it's warm. It's not like Canada in the winter, where it's cold. It makes it great to go to the rink every morning with a smile on your face, and you leave with a smile on your face. So, it's good. Q. What do you think of the style of play in the ECHL?
A. I like it. I mean, it's a very fast-paced brand of hockey, and it's tough hockey. It's been really good so far. Q. How do you feel about the way the team�s playing?
A. I think that there's a lot of things that we're still going to have to work on, but I think we're really going to come around. I think he's got a great group of guys. Everybody gets along well, They're great character guys. I believe that we've got the speed and skill to really do well in this league. Q. Where do you see yourself in the three or four seasons as a player?
A. It's really tough to look that far ahead. I'm just going to try to do my best to try to really play well for the Phoenix Roadrunners and see where it takes me.
A. Well, I guess my dad kind of introduced me to it. He was a big hockey fan, huge Leaf's fan in Ontario. From a young age, I just got right into it. Q. You started playing about how old?
A. I think I was five or six. Q. What was your favorite team growing up? Was it the Leafs?
A. Yeah, growing up around Toronto, I was always a big Maple Leafs fan. They had some good teams in the early 90's, so it was a good team to cheer for. Q. Where did you play Juniors and what was the experience like?
A. It was great. I got a chance to play for an expansion team in the Ontario Hockey League, the Brampton Battalion, and I got to play for a great coach there, Stan Butler. I played there for almost three full seasons, and had a short stint for Oshawa Playing for the Generals, Then, my over-age year, I started in Kitchener with the Rangers. Q. You were drafted by Florida in '99, while you were still in the Juniors. What was the experience of the draft like?
A. It was great. That was just off of my first year of Junior hockey, and I didn't really have any expectations. I just kind of got a call, about a week before the draft. My agent said I might get picked. It was a great feeling, and It was definitely something that I'll never forget. Q. Was it a tough decision to go on to college, rather then enter the system?
A. It was, but it wasn't. Both my parents are teachers, so an education is highly valued in the family, and it was something I always wanted to do. So, it was good to get my degree and pursue some professional hockey. Q. What was your college playing experience like?
A. It was great. Same thing, just a great coach - Mike Eagles, who played eighteen years in the NHL, and he was our head coach there. Just the atmosphere at a university, in a small university town, can't be beat. We had some unbelievable fans there, as well, so it was awesome. Q. I understand that you were in this hockey reality series called "Making the Cut". What was that show all about?
A. I guess it was to find the best unsigned hockey players in Canada. That's basically what the premise of the show was. It was on CBC, which is a Canadian television network. They just went across Canada, had different tryouts, and eventually cut down to the 68 people they took to make the TV show.
Q.
What was the experience like for you?A. It was great. I got to meet a ton of great guys from all over different parts of Canada and I got to stay at a beautiful resort in Vernon, British Columbia, A part of the country I'd never seen, so it was a great experience. Q. And you know Mole from that experience?
A. Mike was actually my roommate on the TV show. There's numerous players that are in the league. Q. And Mole made it to the final line as the goalie?
A. They picked the final six players and Mike was fortunate enough to be in the final six. Q. How did you become involved with the Roadrunners?
A. After I graduated, I started to get some phone calls, and I was fortunate enough to hear from Ron and he said he was interested. I just thought; how could you beat coming to a new team in the East Coast league with great coaches in a great city? Q. What were your first impressions of Phoenix?
A. I love it so far. I mean, the weather is unbelievable. Every day you get up and the sun is shining and it's warm. It's not like Canada in the winter, where it's cold. It makes it great to go to the rink every morning with a smile on your face, and you leave with a smile on your face. So, it's good. Q. What do you think of the style of play in the ECHL?
A. I like it. I mean, it's a very fast-paced brand of hockey, and it's tough hockey. It's been really good so far. Q. How do you feel about the way the team�s playing?
A. I think that there's a lot of things that we're still going to have to work on, but I think we're really going to come around. I think he's got a great group of guys. Everybody gets along well, They're great character guys. I believe that we've got the speed and skill to really do well in this league. Q. Where do you see yourself in the three or four seasons as a player?
A. It's really tough to look that far ahead. I'm just going to try to do my best to try to really play well for the Phoenix Roadrunners and see where it takes me.
