The Blue Jackets knew they were getting a pro in both the locker room and on the ice when they signed Sean Monahan, but they got so much more than that when he arrived.
Monahan was a perfect fit for the Blue Jackets a season ago, serving as the team’s No. 1 center, scoring more than a point per game and impressing the coaching staff as the consummate leader by example in the locker room.
Though he missed two months of his first CBJ campaign with a wrist injury, Monahan was one of the most integral players on the team, as the 30-year-old had 19 goals and 57 points in 54 games while finishing plus-19 and winning 52.6 percent of his faceoffs.
TRAINING CAMP PRESENTED BY OHIOHEALTH: Schedule and roster | Training camp home
Coming into the season, Monahan is again slated to begin the season on the top line while serving as a key mentor to such youngsters as Adam Fantilli, who credited watching Monahan for his own breakout campaign a year ago.
Monahan talked with BlueJackets.com during training camp, presented by OhioHealth, about the sport he almost played instead of hockey as well as his comfort with the city of Columbus. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
BlueJackets.com: So what does a Sean Monahan summer look like these days?
Monahan: “It looks different than usual. My son (Leo) started walking when we got home. It was busy with him. You get to witness all the milestones. There was a lot of time in the gym, on the ice and a lot of family time.”
Did you go back to Canada for the offseason?
“I did. I live in Oakville, right off Lake Ontario. It’s home, and I like going back there to obviously see family, especially with the little guy. This summer was good to refresh the mind and get ready for another season.”
As you said, things are different these days once you have a kid. Does it always amaze you how much life changes?
“It’s crazy. It changes for the best though. It’s so much fun. I think that’s my favorite thing, is being a dad. I enjoy it a lot. But it’s a lot of work, and your schedule definitely changes.”
It’s starting to get to the point where there’s a lot of guys around here with kids. There used to be a lot of young guys. Is it cool to have teammates in similar spots who you can share it with?
“It’s fun for sure. I remember being a young guy looking up to older guys and seeing the families around and whatnot. I think that’s something a lot of guys strive for is to have a family and grow your family and let everyone experience the life that we love.”
Did you grow up in a hockey family? I’m sure it’s everywhere up in Canada, but did your family also play?
“Yeah, my whole family played hockey and lacrosse. That’s all I knew since I was born. I fell in love with both of those games right away.”
I’ve talked to a lot of guys from Canada who grew up playing lacrosse. I don’t think we realize down here how big it is up there.
“Lacrosse is huge. Those are the only two sports I really ever played competitively, other than school sports and stuff like that. Lacrosse is huge. It’s a great sport, and it’s a lot of fun to play.”
How good were you? Did you play high-level lacrosse?
“I played until I was I think 17. To be honest, I was not going to play hockey, I was going to play lacrosse. I had to make a decision, obviously. I ended up choosing hockey, but I still throw the lacrosse ball around essentially every day. It’s something that I still love.”
Do you just go in the backyard and do it?
“My son has his baby lacrosse sticks and his hockey sticks, golf clubs. He’s got everything. I just try to teach him different sports and little things. I have a lacrosse stick back home, too, so I go in the backyard a lot and throw the ball around with my dog. He knows when the lacrosse stick comes out, he gets to run around chasing balls. It’s a great sport and something I’ve done since I remember.”
Were you looking at schools to play? I don’t know the path necessarily for a high-level lacrosse player.
“To be honest, I knew nothing about hockey or lacrosse growing up, I just played the game. I thought I could play in the (National Lacrosse League) and play in the NHL at the same time. Little did I know they ran at the same time, so I ended up playing on this Team Canada team for field lacrosse. Schools reached out when I was 14, 15 years old to go to, but when I was 15 years old I was drafted to Ottawa in the OHL. I knew what the OHL was, but I really didn’t understand how everything worked. I ended up going to camp and making the team, and that was kind of it. I shut my lacrosse down and that was it.
You could have had a different life! You could have been the next Gary Gait or whatever.
“All my friends I grew up with still play. They play pro, (Premier Lacrosse League), NLL, summer league lacrosse. I get to watch some games through the summer, too, which is nice. I keep tabs on lacrosse all the time following my buddies.”
Switching back to hockey a little bit, you enjoy summer, but does the itch come back when it comes to August? Especially with the excitement level for what you guys think this team can be?
“I’m not going to lie, this is the first summer where I was really excited to get back. I tried to get back as soon as I could, but family stuff and different things held us back from coming back early. But Columbus is such a fun place to live and so good for kids and our family with where we’re at. I think the way the season ended last year, missing (the playoffs) by two points, it keeps you hungry. That’s the motivation that the group had over the summer. To come back to a few new faces, I think our team got better on paper and we have to bring that to reality.”
That's been a common theme in camp, how you fell short but that just fueled the hunger and how much you trained in the offseason and how excited you are to be with this group. Does it feel palpable to you, that the team feels like it can do something special right now?
"I've been on a lot of teams where you lead up to the season and you're talking about expectations and everything, but at the end of the day, when the puck drops you have to win games. With the group we have, we gotta give ourselves a chance every night. Everyone is prepared mentally, physically, and ready to get the ball rolling."
You mentioned how great a place Columbus is. You came here in the worst of circumstances, but it also struck me how quickly it seemed like you felt comfortable here, both in the community and with the team. For a place you hadn’t spent much time, did it surprise you a little bit? Because it seems like in so many ways, it ended up being the right place.
“The city for sure. The fans and the organization welcomed me right away. You go to a new team and you’re obviously nervous and want to make a good impression. The circumstances were ones that you couldn’t draw up. I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be like, but I had some familiar faces that I knew here. It’s such a great group of guys and great teammates, the coaching staff. It’s a really fun group to be a part of. We’re pushing each other. When you’re at the rink, you’re here to put in the work, and that’s what we do.”
