Conference Call: Shea Weber

MONTREAL - Shea Weber joined the media via conference call on Tuesday to discuss his nomination as the Canadiens' candidate for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

Below is an abridged transcript of the call.

Question from Martin McGuire, Cogeco Média

After the big injuries you had during the two previous seasons, is there a sense of pride in the way you came back this year? The numbers show that your game is back to how it was two years ago.

I definitely take a lot of pride in my game and contributing as much as I can to help the team. I felt like I had a little bit of a shortened summer with the two surgeries the year before. Fortunately, I was able to get a full summer of training and skating in, like I normally would. I felt good from the get-go, and didn't miss training camp, which everyone talks about as a hard thing for guys to do. Whether it's a hold-out or an injury situation, it's tough to catch a moving train. Fortunately, last year I was able to start-off in the right direction and had a pretty good year.

Question from Alexis Champagne, The Canadian Press

You mentioned that long summer when you couldn't really train, because of the surgeries. Did you have any doubts at that time that you could return to the level you showed this season? Getting invited to the All-Star game, and stuff like that. Did you have any doubts at some point during that summer that you would be able to be the player you were before?

Personally, [I never had any doubts]. I always set the bar high and have a high standard. In order for me to get back to where I was, I had to believe I could do it and I had belief the whole time. It's mentally hard and it's draining at points, especially when you think you're stuck in the mud, or not really going anywhere with your recovery. But the belief never ended. It's always been a constant thing as far as how I operate. It's always believing in what you do and where you're going. That's one of the biggest factors, I think, for a lot of people. It's having that belief system and knowing you're able to do it.

How did you develop that system? Was it always like that with you, even when you were playing youth hockey before Junior? Or is that something you developed along the way, with the help of someone in particular?

I think it's because of my parents, probably. They've always told my brother and I that if you want to do something, you're going to have to believe you can do it, otherwise it's not going to happen. We were kind of just raised that way. It's stuck with me, and that's just constantly been a thing that I've strived on.

Listen to the full conference call below: