On his style of play: I consider myself a punishing defenseman.  I'm the guy that you put out against your top players and tell me to shut them down.  I think I have a great shot from the point and get it through.

On what motivates him: I hate to lose. Just the emotion of the game and knowing that that guy stands in my way from winning, I've either got to knock them down or shut them down. 

On patterning his game after Rob Blake: I like the way he battles in the corners and plays the body like hip-checks and stuff like that as well as his leadership skills.  I've just been watching him play and I'm impressed.

On learning from Regina defenseman Logan Pyett: He's the captain of our team and he's definitely a great leader and he's probably going to get a good chance to play in the NHL this year.  He played in the World Juniors and this year I’m taking as much out of it as I can while he's here.  He's a great player. He's a little bit opposite player of me.  He's a little bit more offensive and skates end to end all the time -- just the way he handles himself, I learn from that.

On getting his start in hockey: I kind of just got forced into it.  It was in the family.  My older brother was playing and I always wanted to play with my older brother and try to impress him, I guess could you say, and just kind of got thrown into his practices.  And the next thing you know I was playing, and of course playing up with him, too, because he was on an elite team. So I would just jump up with him, and just the pressure from my family, we are a hockey family.

On the competition with his brothers helping him:   After a while I started to grow and get bigger (than my brother) and so now I consider myself tougher than him. Just the competitive level in my family.  I have a younger brother who is two years younger than me, so he was in the same situation I was in.  So he's trying to impress me and stuff like that.  Just a competitive family I guess you could say.

On knowing he wanted to be a hockey player:   I think it clicked in right when I got the opportunity to go to a hockey school in South Delta -- I figured, either stay in my regular school and be a regular Midget player or I could try and advance my skill and become a better hockey player and learn to become a better person. So I decided, well, might as well try it out and see where it goes and it's brought me here today.

On being the first pick in the 2005 Bantam Draft:  The draft was so long ago, I can barely remember it, but it was obviously a highlight to that point in my life at that time.  But all that's said and done now and there's a new draft and I've got to be focused and ready to play and press for this draft. As long as my team is winning and we're doing good, I'll be happy but I guess it does affect the way I handle things, and it's not really that big of a deal to me.

On not having any superstitions: I fly by the seat of my pants, I guess.  I don't have anything really that crazy about me.  I usually eat pre-game at the same time and shower at the same time before every game.  Other than that, I just get dressed and play.

On what gets him into the game: Either a big hit or getting hit.  Either or gets you in the game.  I think laying a big hit is better but if you get hit, you realize, ‘oh, I've got to step up my game; I've got to start playing better and moving my feet’.  I would say getting a hit.

On his most memorable hockey moment:   I would honestly say the day I made Team Canada’s World Under-18 team -- it was about five in the morning and I was scared out of my pants that I was going to get cut or get the knock on the door. I got a knock, so then your brain is going everywhere, so I'm thinking, ‘did I make it’ or whatever and finally they came in and told me.  Just realizing I made Team Canada and getting to put on that Canadian jersey -- that was probably my most memorable moment.

On what he learned from playing on Canada’s Under-18 Team: Just seeing the caliber of other players all around the world.  I mean, guys coming from Sweden and Switzerland and Czech Republic and Russia, there's lots of talent out there and it just shows you how much more you've got to compete and work harder every day. 

On the one movie he would want to be in:   If I could be in one movie it would be Indiana Jones, just because I know the adventure and stardom that Indiana Jones gets, and just to be a part of all that treasure hunting I think would be fun.

On the most embarrassing song on his iPod:   My most embarrassing song on my iPod is Spice Girls, "Spice Up Your Life."

On the one thing he couldn’t live without:   I could not live without my laptop.  I mean, just going on the road and being able to communicate with your family and stuff like that.  It's kind of tough paying a 50 dollar phone bill when you can just talk on MSN or Skype or something like that.