FEATURE: Zajac Taking Advantage of Down Time

Travis Zajac knows what he's good at.
He's also discovered where he might need some work.
During this time of the NHL pause, Zajac has remained in New Jersey with his young family balancing his role as full-time dad and pro-athlete in uncertain times. With three kids under the age of eight, Zajac and his wife Nikki have their hands full.
"Luckily my wife has a degree in Education," Zajac said with a laugh. "So, now she's putting it to work and for me I'm more the gym teacher and making sure the kids get lunch and things like that."
Where he might struggle a bit?

"Helping around the house, I'm at a 50% fixed ratio right now," he joked. "I put a few holes in the wall, but you know I can patch those up later!"
Zajac said on multiple occasions that this unprecedented time with his family has been a blessing in disguise. Of course, like all NHL players, he wants to be back on the ice competing but is aware that the situation right now calls for following the guidelines of the health authorities and making sure he and his family are doing their part.
"We're just being patient and it's more about health and being safe, making sure we're abiding by the rules and being role models that way, as far as staying home and practicing social distancing.
"We're kind of in a holding pattern now, until we see a plateau, or I don't know what as far as the government or health officials need to see before we get back around the guys," he continued. "It's definitely scary being in New Jersey and seeing the numbers and seeing how many people are infected."
There remains hope that the NHL season will resume and Zajac is using his home gym to maintain his body and remain at the ready. His New Jersey home is his main residence and he had a home gym built a few years ago for his summer workouts that has most of what he needs for his conditioning. The hard part is finding the time amidst juggling family life.
"It's a different routine," Zajac said. It revolves around the kids right now and getting schoolwork done in the morning. And then kind of getting my stuff done after that, whether it's working out or a little shooting area in the garage. Me and my son and daughter will stick handle and go out and shoot for a bit."

What you hear most when talking to hockey players during this pause is the need and desire for on-ice conditioning, replicating the motions of the skates hitting the ice. It's impossible to recreate the same sensation without the blades hitting the ice.
"It's the on-ice part of it, not having to skate for over three weeks now, that's been a long time," he said. "That will be the toughest part, once we're allowed, it will be getting back on the ice because even after the season, it seems like you take an even shorter time [than this] away from the ice each year. To be honest this is probably the longest I've been off the ice in a couple of years."
So how will he try? Well, a pair of rollerblades should be arriving soon.
"To be honest, I ordered a pair of rollerblades the other day because I was going to start ripping around the driveway with the kids. That's the closest thing maybe [to replicate skating], you can do slide work outside. But as far as being in game shape and making contact, obviously there's nothing like [skating]."
The Devils organization has also provided the team with access to all sorts of online content and access while everyone is away from the rink, doing their best to make sure that players are as ready as possible should the season resume at any moment.
"The trainers and coaches and everyone in the whole organization has kept in touch and provided us with online Zoom yoga classes and workouts and we can do at home."
Just don't expect to see Travis on those Zoom calls.
"To be honest [the yoga classes] are pretty hard. So, I've been doing the kids yoga classes through their hockey program that are probably more my speed! When they've been doing those, I've been off to the side so that the teacher doesn't see me!"
Zajac remains in constant contact with his teammates through the Devils team group chat, which he says has quieted down over the last few days as everyone begins to settle into their new routines. Sometimes the group chat turns to discussions regarding a potential start to the season, but Zajac, who has been on several calls with the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) admits that not much has changed recently in their discussions.
"At least in New Jersey and New York it's kind of hard to envision us playing in front of fans here anytime soon with how bad it is here," Zajac said. "I know the NHL is exhausting every option possible […] all the players all want to finish the year any way we can, so if it comes to it where we have to go to a neutral site and play, guys will be for it."

LEADERSHIP ROLE

As the longest standing Devil on the roster and one of the older players in a young locker room, Zajac has not shied away from his role as a team leader through these uncertain times. While the overall team group chat may have settled down over the past couple of days, Zajac does regularly check in with players individually, particularly the younger ones.
"I've been trying to stay in touch with the guys, seeing what some of the young guys are up to, making sure they're okay. It's hard mentally not knowing what's going on or being able to really leave your house or see familiar faces. You want to make sure everyone's in the right mindset and trying to stay engaged, trying to stay interested, trying to do things that just keep them active and mentally in the right mindset. I'm trying to talk to a few guys a week, making sure everyone 's OK, mostly it's making sure their families, and everyone involved is safe."

APPRECIATING DOWN TIME

With what little downtime, in between helping with kid's schoolwork, making lunch and working out, Zajac has found the time with Nikki to carve out some downtime. He hasn't quite discovered any hidden talents, but he did jump on board the Netflix hit 'Tiger King.'
"We finished it in a couple days, and that's is one of the best shows I've ever seen, I'm not going to lie," he said through laughs. "It was pretty entertaining; I can't believe that was real life.

"My mom had a picture of me as a kid," Zajac continued. "I posed with a tiger when I was younger. I had to be like two or three probably. I asked my mom 'how did this happen' and she's like yeah 'they used to bring animals and it was sedated so you're safe, but they stopped doing it after a while!"
Travis is certainly making the best of a difficult situation, indulging in things like Tiger King and family time.
"It's been good. The kids and I put together a couple of elevated garden beds so we're going to plant a garden and get then outside as much possible. They've been good at helping out around the house and it's kind of been a blessing being around your family this much, not having to rush to go somewhere. We have time to play games and you have family dinners every night and talk and laugh."