"I grew up in Herisau Switzerland," said Meier. "It's a smaller city. 15,000 people that live there.
"I grew up very close to the hockey rink," he continued, noting that was one of the big reasons he feels that he ended up becoming such an impact hockey player.
"I got into hockey through my neighbor. My neighbor, good friend. He's the same age as me and we went to school together later on, but he started playing hockey. They lived a house down and his dad was a professional hockey player, so he got his son into hockey and kind of made me want to try it."
For Meier, he fell in love with the game almost immediately.
"I stepped on the ice for the first time and loved it. Gave soccer a shot too, but figured out pretty quickly I was more of a hockey player type of guy. Didn't really have much skill in soccer. So that got me here. I stepped on the ice the first time and loved it ever since."
Known for having one of the best shots in the NHL, Meier was asked how it was developed.
"I always liked shooting pucks and I was destroying my mom's clothes washer and the dryer as well. So I was shooting pucks there and trying to hit it in in the dryer. So my mom wasn't too pleased with that, but I'm sure she's pretty happy about that now," he chuckled.
Meier played hockey in his hometown of Herisau until he was 12 years old but after that it became apparent that he needed higher competition. He moved onto some better teams a little further away from home and then at age 16 he played in the CHL with the Halifax Mooseheads.
"It was definitely hard in the beginning (to be so far away from home), but I was always really excited because I always knew I had my dream, the NHL and I wanted to get there so I think that was just part of it," he noted. "And obviously learned a lot through it, being away from home, being away from family. But I think it was a great way to kind of develop as a person and get to where I'm now and, I just enjoy the journey."
It didn't take Meier long to find his NHL dream. He was drafted ninth overall in 2015 by the San Jose Sharks and after playing one more season of junior and a third of a season in the American Hockey League, he made his debut and it was a good one. Meier scored a goal in his first game on his first shot against arguably the best goaltender in the NHL at the time, Carey Price.
"Better than I ever dreamed of it," he said. "Pretty special to get the call-up and then get the first goal on the first shot. I think you can't write it better than that."
Meier's career has blossomed since then to where he is one of the most feared forwards in the NHL. The past two seasons in particular he's really found his game, including a rare five-goal effort -- it having happened only six times in the last 25 years.
AWAY FROM THE RINK
Meier's time is certainly consumed by hockey as is the case with most NHL players but he does try to find time to get away from the game when he can.
"When I'm home, I like spending time with my family and friends," he said. "I'm a big soccer fan. I like watching soccer. My free time to get a little bit of my mind off hockey and just overall like being outdoors. Was lucky enough to play in California where there's sun so just sit sitting outside, drinking a coffee. I think that's ia nice thing and exploring. I'm a pretty adventurous guy."
Spending his off-seasons in Switzerland has enabled him to do some of that exploring with so much to offer nearby.
"In the off season, obviously you want to train and all that, but when I get on a little vacation -- a big fan of different cultures. In Europe, you're pretty fortunate to have small distances and see a bunch of different cultures. That's something that I like."
