David's Diary: Off to China

SHENZHEN, China- When word came down last spring that my teammates and I would be headed to China for the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games, I must admit to being a bit curious as to how all of this was going to work.
As the details emerged, however, I quickly realized what a great opportunity it would be to see the other side of the world while playing the sport I love so much. I've always had an interest in coming to China - though I never really thought it would come to fruition.

But after a 15-hour, 8,000-mile flight from Boston to Shenzhen, here we are.
And what a flight it was.
First off, that plane was pretty special.
Honestly, it was like a moving apartment space. Just awesome. I was able to watch parts of a couple movies, read a book, and chat with as many people as I could - including the pilots.
As a flying buff - I received my pilot's license in 2012 - I made sure to check in with the cockpit before we took off to see what they were working with in there.
They were really nice guys and they told me to come on back up while we were flying. I immediately lit up at the idea of being in the cockpit of a massive jetliner as we were flying.
A few hours into the flight, I took them up on their offer and brought Brandon Carlo along with me.

I didn't get a chance to grab the yoke (the wheel for you non-aviation folks), but maybe on the way home those guys will get a little looser and let me sub in.
About an hour before we landed, I took one last trip to the cockpit to make a bit of an announcement on the radio - another thing I've always wanted to do. I won't spoil that part too much, so stay tuned for the next episode of Behind The B for more on that.
In the end, I really just tried to move around on the plane as much as possible so that I didn't feel sluggish when I got here.
For the Olympics in Sochi we had a sleep professional trying to aid us, but I just don't think there's a great way to stave off jet lag no matter what. When it's a 12-hour time change, your body just resists that in the most aggressive way.
I tried to get onto Shenzhen time as quick as possible, I think I slept 4.5-5 hours on the plane - which was kind of my plan, to sleep 5-6 hours and stay up for a bit when I got here.
Now that we are here and settled in a bit, it's time to enjoy the experience. I'm going to try to really immerse myself in the Chinese culture. I want to embrace it as much as possible, learn, and grow as a person.
And of course I'm excited to get on the ice, get camp started, and begin a new season. There are a lot of new faces around and this trip provides a great opportunity to bond and get to know them.
So, off we go.