What went into your decision to commit to UMass, and what are you looking forward to the most upon your arrival this fall?
"Part of my decision to go there was that they were one of the first colleges to approach me. From there, I just kind of kept in contact with them. They had very personable coaches at the time. I really liked the campus and the opportunity to be in the Hockey East, a competitive conference. Even with the coaching change there, I wanted to stay loyal and see what happened behind the scenes. I knew they would get somebody good with the new coaches they brought in, Greg Carvel, Ben Barr and Jared DeMichiel. I am really happy that I stayed there because I think they made a great decision with Carvel, who coached Erik Karlsson in Ottawa. I just couldn't be more excited to go there to be honest. They're bringing in I think 11 freshmen this year, and it's going to be an exciting time for the program. I always like a challenge in terms of playing teams, and hopefully we will be the underdogs and it will be a fun time there."
What is your style of play and how can it impact a game?
"I would say I'm an offensive defenseman. I'm a guy that doesn't like to shy away from jumping in the rush, but I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates this year. They were able to feed me the puck when I wanted it and put it in when I fed it to them. I credit them for a lot of it, but I describe my play as offensive and a very mobile guy when I jump in the zone. I like to jump in the middle whether that's D downs or D middles."
Who do you try to model your game after?
"I would say a little bit of a mix between Erik Karlsson and Shayne Gostisbehere. I watched quite a bit of Gostisbehere coming out of college and noticed the deceptiveness from his game right away. I think that is one factor I have always had to my game. In terms of Erik Karlsson, we have very similar tendencies in the ways we break pucks out, join the rush and especially off the line."