BLOG: Perfetti the Hockey Nerd

For Cole Perfetti, hockey was never a hobby. Hockey is life.
NHL Central Scouting's fifth-ranked North American skater in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft didn't just play the sport, he obssessed over it. And that has to be part of what has driven him to become one of the game's potential next NHL stars.
"Ever since I was young, I was always kind of the kid that would go on YouTube on my dad's computer and look up hockey highlights, best goals, shootout goals, whatever the case may be, and stuff like that," he said, speaking on a Zoom call with media Thursday. "I loved watching hockey and if I couldn't watch it live on television, I would resort to YouTube and started watching a lot of it there. That's something that I think I just have a big passion for. Hockey is pretty much my entire life. Everything revolves around hockey. That's my mindset. I just want to be the one that's always getting better and I have a passion for it and I just enjoy spending time watching hockey and breaking down what the elite players are doing and what makes them so successful on the ice."
Perfetti says that with all the options for streaming and video on the internet, it has made it even more easy to consume hockey content in large doses. And he fancies himself a hockey savant. Just a giant hockey nerd.
"You just have to have a passion for it," he said. "I think I've had that ever since I was young. The last couple of months here with these playoffs watching three, four, five, six games a day, every day has been a dream of mine. It's been hockey heaven for me for sure. I've had a great time doing that. I would definitely say that I'm a hockey nerd."