Vancouver Canucks forward and recent Calder Cup champion Max Sasson and Canucks prospect Anthony Romani, sits down with Canucks Insider Podcast host Chris Faber to discuss Sasson’s experience winning a Calder Cup, his transition from the AHL to the NHL, and his chemistry with linemates Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson. With Romani, Faber discusses his transition from the OHL to the NCAA as one of the first to make the switch with the new rule change.
Max Sasson
Of the countless moments throughout the Abbotsford Canucks historic Calder Cup run, one of the most personal to Sasson was the incredible support from his father, who attended as many games as he could as the Canucks progressed round after round, cheering with unbridled excitement with each win.
“It was such a special moment. I was looking around for him, and then ultimately I see him right in the glass, of course, and he’s going crazy before they would let him on the ice,” Sasson said.
Sasson, who credits his father for getting him into hockey as a child, felt immense gratitude for his support throughout the Calder Cup playoffs, as did the rest of their team as their friends and family showed up in support for an exciting moment in their careers.
“You don’t get here alone, and they’re just as much a part of it as you, and they deserve to be because they’ve supported you the whole way, and you need those people in your life,” Sasson said.
A lot of important lessons were learned from winning a championship and playing high-pressure, high-stakes games, but that experience has proven to be immeasurable in how it’s allowed Sasson to grow as a player.
“Coming into camp in my first year, I was shaking [and] I could barely hold my stick at the training camp,” Sasson said. “Now, all of a sudden, you start to feel more confidence in yourself and belief in yourself because of the hard work, but also because you’ve experienced these high-pressure situations and you start to feed into the pressure of it and enjoy it.”
Sasson has carried out that mentality since being called up to the Vancouver Canucks this season, where he has already made notable contributions to the team, having scored three goals in nine games thus far.
“Everything matters at the NHL level. Every single game, especially for a guy like me who’s trying to make it. Every little thing matters. Every shift matters, no matter if you play six minutes or 20 minutes,” he said.
It can be challenging to make the jump from the AHL to the NHL level, with some players finding that certain parts of their game do not translate seamlessly between the two. This was not the case for Sasson, who has proven to still be effective, specifically with his speed. This has not gone unnoticed, with teammates Filip Hronek and Conor Garland providing votes of confidence in his skills.
“It means the world to me, hearing your teammates have confidence in you to do it at the NHL… it really helps,” Sasson said.
Sasson has been playing on a line consisting of fellow Abbotsford teammates Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson, dubbed the ‘Abby line’ or ‘Kid line’. This line has shown incredible chemistry with one another, a product of not only playing a significant number of games together, but of the close relationships they have built between each other off the ice as well.
“I think a lot of belief in each other is the number one thing. I think just how close we are as people, on the ice I think that can translate,” Sasson said. “I think having relationships like we do off the ice can really help in a high-pressure game setting.”
As Sasson continues to make his mark in the NHL, his goals, and how he plans to pursue it don’t change.
“You dreamed of this moment. Every single time you get to step on the NHL ice is something you’ve been working for forever. So never take a shift for granted, and keep pushing the pace, and ultimately, we want to just help the team.”
Anthony Romani
With the newly implemented rule change that now allows CHL players to play in the NCAA, Romani was one of the first to take advantage of the opportunity. He decided to attend Michigan State University, where he is in the midst of his first semester.
“The coaches, everything, the way they run the program is very professional. They’re there for your development every day, and they’ll put their 110[percent] into us every day,” Romani said.
There are a lot of key differences between the NCAA and the CHL which make the NCAA route the preferable one for some players, most notably having the chance to play against older, stronger and more developed pools of talent, in a more intense environment due to the college season having fewer games.
“It’s an older game. The players are bigger; they’re stronger. Getting in corners is a little different than the OHL with puck battles and stuff, but it's what I wanted to come into, and it's been great so far,” Romani said. “It’s less games, so every game feels like a playoff game because it means that much more for the standings and conferences.”
As Romani adjusts to the busy schedule of a student athlete, he has still found time to enjoy the various experiences that college life has to offer, including attending tailgates on game days, and every student’s favourite activity: homework.
“With the whole school thing, I’ve been doing a lot of homework and stuff,” Romani said. He still tries to find time to watch NHL games when he can, as well as basketball and football games.
Michigan State University will play Penn State in a clash of top five teams on Friday, November 7th, the first meeting of these two Big 10 schools this season.
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