Jan 2006 Q & A with Brent Henley
This Month's Q&A features Roadrunners defenseman Brent Henley. Known around minor league circles as an enforcer, Henley has collected nearly 1,000 penalty minutes in five years as a pro.
The Shoot-Out found Brent to be remarkably well adjusted to his role as a player and the many stops in his career.
Q. Where did you grow up?
A.I grew up, actually, all over British Columbia. My Father was with the RCMP, so I grew up in way too many towns and went to way too many schools, but I'm based out of Vancouver, now. Q. How did you first get into playing Hockey?
A.It's pretty much, as a kid in Canada in a small town, what everybody does. There's not a lot of of programs offered, other than that, in the winter. It was pretty much a natural fit; my father played, all my cousins played, so I just followed in their steps. Q. Where did you play Juniors and what was experience like?
A. My Junior career actually pretty much mirrored my growing up; I played for a lot of different teams. I had some health problems and it limited how much I could play, so I'd have to leave teams for a little bit and come back. I played mostly in Western Canada, a little bit in Montana. I played in the Western Hockey League, the BCHL, the SHJL, and the America West which was in Montana. Q. This isn't your first time as a Roadrunner, as you played for the Edmonton and Toronto RoadRunners of the AHL. Was was the situation there and what happened to the team?
A. The Toronto team was the first one; it was Edmonton's affiliate and there were some financial problems and they had to relocate to Edmonton during the lock-out. I followed the team there, because I was under an NHL contract. And then this year was just kind of the luck of the draw. This is my third year in a row wearing the jersey. Q. Which NHL team were you with during the lock-out?
A. I was with Edmonton the year previous to the lockout and the lockout year. Q. You came to the Phoenix Roadrunners early in November. How did you become involved with the team?
A.I was under a Pittsburgh contract this year and things didn't work out with the organization. I actually retired for almost six weeks. I got the itch again and I started to really miss the game. It just worked out that Ron placed a phone call and the pieces fell into place for me to come here. Q. Have you played with any of the guys before?
A. Actually, I played against a few of there here and there. I played with Dave Cousineau for one game in Toronto. He got called up to play with the team, and I was there. Other than that, everybody's pretty much new to me. Q. How do you like the city, so far?
A. I love the city. You can't complain about the weather at all. Nice building, nice faciltiy. There's nothing negative, right now, about the city at all. I love it. I wish that the record was a little better, but other than that it a real positive experience. Q. You're known around the league as an enforcer, but some of the fans have noticed you stepping into a leadership role on the ice and you've got an "A", now. What's going on?
A.I think that you can balance out any role you have with the team with being in leadership. We have a lot of rookies, a lot of young guys. This is my fifth year pro. Ive seen a lot, I've been a lot of different places. I've kind of taken those experiences and try to add � to give the rookies a little bit of advice and step into that role. Q. With the new rules, there's not much room on an NHL roster for an enforcer. Do you think that there's been an effect in the minors, as well?
A. I think that there's been a little bit of a trickle down effect with guys that used to be at a higher level coming down one. There's still room for an enforcer, but the game's changed, and you actually have to be able to play the game and enforce at the same time. A lot of the older guys have trouble with that, and you've seen them come down leagues. This allows the guys to re-adjust their games, which is, hopefully, what this year is doing for me and a couple of other guys. Q. The ECHL has gone along with the NHL and made changes on the ice. In your opinion, how has this changed defensive play?
A. It made you a little more aware of positioning. A two-line pass can beat you. The other rules haven't really trickled down here, yet. The biggest difference is the speed of the game with the two-line pass, and having to really be in the right place. When you get burned, it's really noticeable.
Q. How do you feel about the way the team is playing?
A. We've had some breakdowns in special teams. But, if you look in the stands, even tonight, we have our three top defensemen sitting next to each other, watching the game instead of playing. We have our best forward watching next to us. I think that it's unfair to judge us on the record because we haven't been on the ice as a team yet. Hopefully, the hole's not too deep and when we all come back we can make a legitimate run. Q. With some of the rookies we're seeing, who should we watch to step up?
A. A guy like Shawn Snider, who's really stepped up and played well. Taylor Christie on defense has really improved his game over the last month with the ice time. I think, with our rookies, it's more of a consistency factor. All of them can contirbute at this level, and maybe the next level. But they have to play every night, and I think that's been one of our biggest troubles. Q. You're serving the first of a two day suspension. What happened on Sunday [Henly was serving a two-game suspension for his elbow on Fresno's Kelsey Muench]?
A. It was more of a retribution thing for some things that happened to our team. What I did was was dirty. I do deserve to be suspended, but I don't agree with the two games. I thought that maybe one would be sufficient. It was a payback thing. They took out two of our guys with dirty hits. My role on the team; I can't let that stand. Q. You talked to us the other night about this [at the Booster Club meeting]. You said that you can't get away with anything.
A. I'm pretty noticeable on the ice and if you look at my stats, I'm one of the guys that's going to get targeted. So I'm trying to be a little better, but no one could have gotten away with that one. Q. Where do you see yourself as a player in three or four seasons?
A. I'd like to get myself back to the American league. I was a legitimate American League player and I had some injury problems. It just wasn't in the cards, but if I come down here and work hard it's cliche, but if you work hard you get back out of here. And, if not, I'm happy playing this level and try and be a leader of the team and help the team on the ice. Q. And long term, after that? Coaching, front office?
A. I don't really see myself in the game after that at a professional level. I would like to remain in Canada and start a family. Hopefully, three or four years down the road, I'll ease into that.
A.I grew up, actually, all over British Columbia. My Father was with the RCMP, so I grew up in way too many towns and went to way too many schools, but I'm based out of Vancouver, now. Q. How did you first get into playing Hockey?
A.It's pretty much, as a kid in Canada in a small town, what everybody does. There's not a lot of of programs offered, other than that, in the winter. It was pretty much a natural fit; my father played, all my cousins played, so I just followed in their steps. Q. Where did you play Juniors and what was experience like?
A. My Junior career actually pretty much mirrored my growing up; I played for a lot of different teams. I had some health problems and it limited how much I could play, so I'd have to leave teams for a little bit and come back. I played mostly in Western Canada, a little bit in Montana. I played in the Western Hockey League, the BCHL, the SHJL, and the America West which was in Montana. Q. This isn't your first time as a Roadrunner, as you played for the Edmonton and Toronto RoadRunners of the AHL. Was was the situation there and what happened to the team?
A. The Toronto team was the first one; it was Edmonton's affiliate and there were some financial problems and they had to relocate to Edmonton during the lock-out. I followed the team there, because I was under an NHL contract. And then this year was just kind of the luck of the draw. This is my third year in a row wearing the jersey. Q. Which NHL team were you with during the lock-out?
A. I was with Edmonton the year previous to the lockout and the lockout year. Q. You came to the Phoenix Roadrunners early in November. How did you become involved with the team?
A.I was under a Pittsburgh contract this year and things didn't work out with the organization. I actually retired for almost six weeks. I got the itch again and I started to really miss the game. It just worked out that Ron placed a phone call and the pieces fell into place for me to come here. Q. Have you played with any of the guys before?
A. Actually, I played against a few of there here and there. I played with Dave Cousineau for one game in Toronto. He got called up to play with the team, and I was there. Other than that, everybody's pretty much new to me. Q. How do you like the city, so far?
A. I love the city. You can't complain about the weather at all. Nice building, nice faciltiy. There's nothing negative, right now, about the city at all. I love it. I wish that the record was a little better, but other than that it a real positive experience. Q. You're known around the league as an enforcer, but some of the fans have noticed you stepping into a leadership role on the ice and you've got an "A", now. What's going on?
A.I think that you can balance out any role you have with the team with being in leadership. We have a lot of rookies, a lot of young guys. This is my fifth year pro. Ive seen a lot, I've been a lot of different places. I've kind of taken those experiences and try to add � to give the rookies a little bit of advice and step into that role. Q. With the new rules, there's not much room on an NHL roster for an enforcer. Do you think that there's been an effect in the minors, as well?
A. I think that there's been a little bit of a trickle down effect with guys that used to be at a higher level coming down one. There's still room for an enforcer, but the game's changed, and you actually have to be able to play the game and enforce at the same time. A lot of the older guys have trouble with that, and you've seen them come down leagues. This allows the guys to re-adjust their games, which is, hopefully, what this year is doing for me and a couple of other guys. Q. The ECHL has gone along with the NHL and made changes on the ice. In your opinion, how has this changed defensive play?
A. It made you a little more aware of positioning. A two-line pass can beat you. The other rules haven't really trickled down here, yet. The biggest difference is the speed of the game with the two-line pass, and having to really be in the right place. When you get burned, it's really noticeable.
Q. How do you feel about the way the team is playing?
A. We've had some breakdowns in special teams. But, if you look in the stands, even tonight, we have our three top defensemen sitting next to each other, watching the game instead of playing. We have our best forward watching next to us. I think that it's unfair to judge us on the record because we haven't been on the ice as a team yet. Hopefully, the hole's not too deep and when we all come back we can make a legitimate run. Q. With some of the rookies we're seeing, who should we watch to step up?
A. A guy like Shawn Snider, who's really stepped up and played well. Taylor Christie on defense has really improved his game over the last month with the ice time. I think, with our rookies, it's more of a consistency factor. All of them can contirbute at this level, and maybe the next level. But they have to play every night, and I think that's been one of our biggest troubles. Q. You're serving the first of a two day suspension. What happened on Sunday [Henly was serving a two-game suspension for his elbow on Fresno's Kelsey Muench]?
A. It was more of a retribution thing for some things that happened to our team. What I did was was dirty. I do deserve to be suspended, but I don't agree with the two games. I thought that maybe one would be sufficient. It was a payback thing. They took out two of our guys with dirty hits. My role on the team; I can't let that stand. Q. You talked to us the other night about this [at the Booster Club meeting]. You said that you can't get away with anything.
A. I'm pretty noticeable on the ice and if you look at my stats, I'm one of the guys that's going to get targeted. So I'm trying to be a little better, but no one could have gotten away with that one. Q. Where do you see yourself as a player in three or four seasons?
A. I'd like to get myself back to the American league. I was a legitimate American League player and I had some injury problems. It just wasn't in the cards, but if I come down here and work hard it's cliche, but if you work hard you get back out of here. And, if not, I'm happy playing this level and try and be a leader of the team and help the team on the ice. Q. And long term, after that? Coaching, front office?
A. I don't really see myself in the game after that at a professional level. I would like to remain in Canada and start a family. Hopefully, three or four years down the road, I'll ease into that.
