Adam Wilcox Press Conference Transcript

Transcript from Lightning goalie Adam Wilcox's press conference before Thursday's game against Nashville.

On when he found out he was being called up
"Yeah it was pretty exciting. Actually, I had my phone on silent, so I always miss calls. So, I was getting my car to get back to the poker tournament in Syracuse. I was about to leave I'm like I'll check my phone here. Before, I had a voicemail from him [Yzerman], so I though it's either good or bad, so I called him right back and he told me [that] I was being recalled. And, I almost blacked out. I was so excited. It was - I starting shaking. It's kind of like one of those once in a lifetime feelings in your first call up. It was pretty special."
On the first people he called
"I was in my family group chat, so I told my family and I figured that I'd text my mom because if it was on a phone call, I'd probably get my ear screamed off. I'd called my fiancé right after [and] told her. And then once it got released, all my buddies and teammates started texting me so it was really cool."
On being able to control all of his emotions after a busy couple of weeks
"Yeah it's one of those times where you kind of get everything thrown at you at once. I was thinking about that yesterday where my friends where texting me. I've had a lot of texts lately saying congrats for the engagement and the call up, so it's one of those things where once you get here, you put the emotions aside and stick to everything you've been doing to get here in the first place."
On his play in Syracuse
"Yeah I think it's been a good year, especially for the team too. We're first in the division I think for most of the year. So from the start of year, it's been a good year for our team and for me. It's been a consistent year, which is one of the things that I wanted to do going into the season. So I thought up until this point, it's been a good third half of the year for me and the team."
On his confidence as a result of the call up
"Yeah definitely. Last year, I think at this time, Vasilevskiy having that blood clot, he came down a lot to play so I think I had one or two games last December. So from a year ago, it's been a huge jump to get those games and kind of get in there [and] get your feet under you and then keep rolling. Consistency, that's one of those things for goalies to have those games, especially when the team's playing well to get your confidence up and you can kind of build off that too."
On what he's improved on in the last year
"Basically everything about my game has really gotten better. Frantz [Jean] and Davey [Alexander], the goalie coaches for Tampa and Syracuse really kind of drilled into me. And, I think after last year, I had to have a good summer. Coming into this year [I had] to have a good start and establish myself cause it's a contract year. Obviously, that always weighs in on you. So, for me, it's been a huge jump. Everything from being calm, controlled, puck playing to death. Everything kind of had to get better, so it was a big summer for working on all that."
On the Bolts' coaching staff's expectations
"No the only one who has is (goaltending coach) Frantz (Jean). {He's] kind of saying keep the structure that you've been working on. We've had a game plan since last spring since I was here black acing with the team and just building on that. Now that I'm here, sticking to that structure cause that's one of the reasons what is led me to have a consistent year down in Syracuse so that's pretty much it. Whether it's playing time or not, I haven't heard anything about that."
On if he was surprised on the call up
"Yeah I think was three to four weeks originally [on Bishop's injury]. With Vasilevskiy getting a lot of playing time up here, I thought maybe that me and Gudlevskis play cause it's tough to have a goalie sit for a whole month. So I thought maybe there'd be a chance, but as a couple of weeks gone by, maybe I'd be in Syracuse. It's a pretty special feeling getting that call and getting your first call up. I mean it's an honor. It's a privilege to be in this league, and I definitely don't take that for granted."
On being a part of the 2011 Draft Class
"Yeah it just made and [Matthew] Peca [being] the last two. He was actually my roommate in Syracuse that got called up. On the TV that one night, we were watching the game and they had our draft class and I was the only one. I'm like 'I got to get up there otherwise I'll be the anchor of the draft clas.' It was pretty cool. It was a special draft class that year. I still remember that day, getting drafted by the Lightning and meeting Steve [Yzerman]. All those emotions and memories came back to me yesterday when I got that call up."
On the good season that he's had in Syracuse
"Yeah it's been a really good year and I think even win-wise, we were 18-9 and I think I passed my wins from last year like a month into the season. So it's definitely been a good year for us, especially coming down the stretch. Last year in mid-January/February, that long part of the season, especially up North where it's cold, it's hard to put together a stretch of games and practices and keep in it. And then we put together a good start to the year going into this midseason positive."