On his style of play:   I think I'm more of an offensive defender who has some skill up front.   I try to play good defense -- make the first pass, try to hit some guys and just keep it simple.

On patterning his game after Montreal’s Mark Streit:   I like his play -- he can play many positions, power-play, penalty-killing.  He can play as a forward and also defend.  I used to play forward until two years ago, so I think I could handle this, too, if I had to.

On becoming a defenseman:   Actually in my junior years, when I was younger, I used to play center more, and then the coaches said if we are short defenders, I had to play offense and defense.  Then they asked me what I wanted to play and I said, defense.  I like this, play more and I see me more in this position.

On playing for Team Switzerland:   I played last August at the Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial.  We had a good tournament even though we lost like every game.   We had good games but at the end just the wins count.  Then I got an invite to the World Juniors. It was actually my first world championship.  I was pretty excited.  I went to the camp there and nobody knew me. I think I played a pretty good tournament.  I had a good conversation with the coaches at the end and they told me they were pretty surprised with my effort there. I could watch many players, the best players in the whole world on this level and just try to see how they do things. It was pretty disappointing because we got relegated and with the World Juniors in Ottawa next year that would haven been so great.

On getting his start in hockey:   I was born in Italy but I grew up in Switzerland and my parents took me when I was three or four to my first hockey game in Zug, near my hometown.   Then they asked me if I wanted to play and I said, ‘yeah, sure’.  They sent me to hockey school, and that’s when it started.

On when he knew he wanted to be a hockey player:   I always loved to play hockey and I just play for fun but a couple years ago I realized that I had a good chance to make it even higher.  The NHL draft for Swiss players is far away and now I get over here and it's getting close. Now I realize that if I work hard and do all I can do, that I can play in the NHL sometime.

On playing for the Lethbridge Hurricanes:   I knew in Canada that it's all about hockey.  I played at the Mac’s Midget tournament and I saw how things are with hockey here. Now I'm on the Lethbridge Hurricanes, it's a very good club, good organization, good coaches.  They support me as much as they can everywhere.

On his most memorable hockey gift:   It was my first jersey that I got -- it was the Toronto Maple Leafs.  My parents gave me that for Christmas with Mats Sundin on the back and it still hangs in my room back in Switzerland. He was the first one that I knew from the NHL.  I just followed his career and I just like the way he plays.

On his most embarrassing hockey moment:   My most embarrassing hockey moment was when I went with my skate guards on the ice and I fell on the ice like a couple times and didn't see it.

On his favorite video game: My favorite video game is NHL '08.