The Full 60: Jaccob Slavin

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin dropped by the second week of the teams' summer youth hockey camps at Raleigh Center Ice last Thursday, and we had the chance to catch up with him.
Let's set the table for our chat before going "the full 60" with the Canes' blue liner.
CarolinaHurricanes.com: How's your summer been?
Jaccob Slavin: My summer's been good. It's been really good. My wife and I have been here in Raleigh for most of it. We've just been hanging out, doing a lot of church stuff with a lot of friends we've made through there. We have made a couple trips back home to see her family and back home to see my family, but the majority of it has been spent here.

First Period: Summer Workouts

CH.com: The workouts you've been doing with Bill Burniston, you did that last year as well, right?
Slavin: Yeah, I've been here the past three summers now.
CH.com: So, are you guys in a sort of rhythm now?
Slavin: Yeah, absolutely. I love Billy. It's fun being here with him this summer. He's got his new place up in North Raleigh, so that's nice. A little more space. We've been having a lot of fun there. Working on speed, working on strength, just trying to get ready for the season.

CH.com: What's it been like working with Scott Darling, Valentin Zykov, Cam Ward, just having those guys around all working toward similar goals?
Slavin: It's a lot of fun. Last summer it was just me here in Raleigh for the most part. Wardo and I worked out at different times last summer. This summer, having those guys in there and being able to get some good workouts in and have some friendly competition always makes it more fun. It's been good to see them working hard and knowing that they're putting in work, too, getting ready for the season.
CH.com: What are you personally hoping to accomplish this summer heading into the season?
Slavin: For myself, just putting on a little bit of weight to be stronger in the corners and stronger in front of the net. That's my big thing.

Second Period: New Faces on the Blue Line

CH.com: You look at what the Hurricanes have done this offseason, upgrades on the defense. What's it going to be like to play with guys like Dougie Hamilton and Calvin de Haan?
Slavin: I think it's going to be awesome. I think the guys we brought in are very skilled and very talented, and hopefully we're able to all buy into the same system and the same mentality starting the year off. The guys we lost, I wish them the best. I'm going to miss them for sure. They were great guys, but I think the new guys coming in are going to be awesome, as well.
CH.com: You've had Rod Brind'Amour as an assistant coach, and now you get to have him as a head coach. What do you think he's going to bring behind the bench?
Slavin: He's such an outstanding guy. I think he's going to bring a sense of work ethic, like his game when he played. He's going to expect that out of us every single night and every single practice and expect it to be 110 percent all the time, never taking a shift off or a night off. Having that mentality from the top down is going to be a big influence on our team.

CH.com: This team has made some progress over the past few years. Do you feel like it's close and the pieces are there in order to get back to the playoffs?
Slavin: I definitely think so. I think the offseason moves have helped. I think the pieces are there to make that push this year and make that jump this year, to not just be a borderline team but to be in the playoffs. We want to go deep in the playoffs, and we'll see what we can do.

Third Period: Another Slavin in the NHL

CH.com: Your brother, Josiah, was drafted into the NHL this summer.
Slavin: Yeah, that's awesome. I was really excited for Jo. Seventh round to Chicago, and I know he was ecstatic about it. I know he did really, really well at their development camp, as well. (Joel) Quenneville went on to say that Jo was one of the main ones that really impressed him throughout the camp. Just to give Josiah that confidence going into his last year of junior is huge for him. Then he's following to CC (Colorado College) like I did. I'm just excited to see where life and his career takes him. I hope one day we get to play together. He's coming out tonight for a while, so he'll be here with me for the next two weeks.
CH.com: Nice. Are you going to train together?
Slavin: Yeah, we'll work out and skate together and everything. It will be fun to have him out here, and my other little brother is coming out as well, but he's only 13, so he's got some years ahead of him before he's even draft-able.
CH.com: What was Josiah's draft day like?
Slavin: My wife and I were in Charlotte. I was trying to follow the draft as best I could online. Jo was actually on the ice when he got the call. Or actually, no, he was not on the ice when he got the call - he was getting undressed. He opened up his phone and was like, "Oh, no congratulatory texts or anything. Guess it didn't happen. That's OK." Then he got the call from his advisor saying, "Hey! Did you see what happened?" Then all the texts started pouring in. He was pumped, and I was pumped for him. I think I was probably more excited for him than he was. It was awesome. It was a good day for him.
CH.com: What can you tell him about the journey and what it takes to get to the NHL?
Slavin: I think the biggest thing he needs to look at - and I think he understands it - is that, fourth round, seventh round, first round, it doesn't matter. He's just got to continue to work hard. He has the right mindset. He's putting God first and putting it into his hands. I know that's his mindset going into things and into each game, so I'm proud of him for that. As long as he continues to work hard - that's his game, the work ethic and being a reliable player at both ends of the ice - I think he's going to go places. I'm not worried about him. I'm excited to see where he'll be at in five years.

Overtime: Officer Slavin

CH.com: And your older brother …
Slavin: Yeah, my oldest brother (Justin Slavin), he just got sworn in as a police officer when I was back home in Colorado. That's really exciting for him. I'm excited to see how he does at it. I know he's been working hard for that.

CH.com: Was that a career path he wanted to follow?
Slavin: Yes and no. He always wanted to be a strength coach and physical trainer. It's hard business to make it in. You've got to put in a lot of time and a lot of effort. He had some doors close on him, and this door opened for him. Once he realized what he was getting himself into, I think he got more excited as he was going through the academy. I know he's excited about it and thrilled about it, being an officer in the town we grew up in.
CH.com: In Colorado?
Slavin: Erie, Colorado. It should be fun for him. I know he has some training to do still.

Shootout

1. Favorite social media platform? You haven't been on it too much this summer.
Slavin: We did a 40-day fast in a bible study we were doing, so I was off of everything for 40 days.
CH.com: That was probably refreshing.
Slavin: It was. It was very refreshing. But I'd probably say, I like Instagram a lot. Twitter's not bad, either. I don't really use Facebook anymore.
CH.com: I don't either. At development camp, I think every kid had Twitter or Instagram, but none of them had Facebook.
Slavin: If I had to go for my favorite, I think I'd say Snapchat. I love Snapchat. The filters you can put on, I think they're funny.
2. Favorite thing to do in the summer?
Slavin: I think my favorite thing to do during the summer, it doesn't happen much, but when I can get her out on the course, I love golfing with my wife. But she's not as big of a golf fan as I am, so that's a bummer.
CH.com: Who's better at golf?
Slavin: [whispers] I am. She can hit the ball really well. We golfed back in Colorado with my family, and she drove the green on a par 4, 227 yards.
CH.com: Nice!
Slavin: Yeah, she ended up getting a par that hole. We've got a good scoring system for her. If she gets par or better, we'll write down the score. If not, if she finishes the hole, she gets a smiley face, and if she doesn't finish the hole, she gets a frowny face.
CH.com: That's perfect.
Slavin: It always keeps her motivated.
CH.com: I would get a ton of frowny faces.
3. Favorite restaurant in Raleigh?
Slavin: Oh, there are a lot of good ones I like. I'll give you my top three or four. I love Cowfish. I love Firebirds, even though it's not necessarily just a Raleigh restaurant. We love Gonza. I think to top off the list, we love Sola Coffee Café.
CH.com: You mention Gonza. Eddie Lack had his signature taco there. If you were to make a signature taco, what would you put on it?
Slavin: I love their carnitas tacos, but what I typically get there is the burrito and switch out the chicken or steak for the carnitas. So, I'd make a carnitas burrito, and then probably put some queso in there.
CH.com: That sounds delicious.
Slavin: It's so good.