Cats Check-In: Stillman living with Lafferty, reading during quarantine

The Florida Panthers are riding out these unprecedented times much like the rest of us.

Whether it's finding creative ways to stay in shape or brushing up on their culinary skills in the kitchen, players have hunkered down and begun to find ways to adapt to their new routines at home as the NHL remains on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic that's gripped the world.

Through this new "Cats Check-In" series, FloridaPanthers.com's Jameson Olive will be catching up with some of these players to see how they've been spending their days, with questions ranging from what they're currently binge-watching on TV to how they're keeping in shape.

This week's check-in: Panthers defenseman Riley Stillman.

OLIVE: In speaking with some of your teammates, it seems like half are quarantining back home while the other half are still in Florida. Where are you riding things out?

STILLMAN:I'm actually in Phoenix, Arizona.

OLIVE: That's interesting. What brought you there?

STILLMAN: I live here with Sam Lafferty, who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Him and I have lived together the last three summers out here in Phoenix to train.

OLIVE: How'd that living arrangement come together?

STILLMAN: We got put together through training about six years ago. It's been great.

OLIVE: What's your day-to-day routine been like while under quarantine?

STILLMAN:I've been waking up pretty early. The last few weeks I've been doing two workouts a day in the garage to just try and stay in shape for when the season comes back. Other than that, I've just been reading, making sure I'm eating well and trying to catch up on some sleep.

OLIVE: When it comes to training, how nice is it to be living with a fellow NHL player?

STILLMAN:It's nice because we work perfectly together. We compliment each other in a way where we're both busy around the house. We're making sure everything's done that needs to get done. We've been able to push each other in the gym, which is perfect.

OLIVE: In addition to staying in good physical shape, is there anything you're able to do to mimic some of the things you'd be working on if you had access to a sheet of ice?

STILLMAN:I've actually been watching a pretty good amount of film, some games from this last year and from earlier playoffs. I have my sticks and stuff here, but obviously we can't get on the ice. I don't have rollerblades, so I've just been stickhandling and trying to stay on top of things.

OLIVE: When you watch film, are you only watching clips of yourself or do you also look at some of the top defenders around the NHL and try to pick some things up from them?

STILLMAN:It's a bit of everything. I like to watch Duncan Keith. I think he's a special player with the way he plays. I've actually been watching some old film on Scott Stevens. That's kind of the style that I want to play. And obviously with him being a Hall of Famer, that's a good guy to watch.

OLIVE: How have you been keeping in touch with your teammates during this time? Is there any one teammate in particular that you've been chatting with more than others?

STILLMAN:I'm in the group chat. We obviously still have that going. The guys on the team that I keep in touch with most are guys like Frankie [Frank Vatrano] and Cookie [Noel Acciari]. I usually talk to those guys a couple days a week, and then Brownie [Josh Brown] at the odd time. Actually, Sal [Aleksi Saarela] and I got pretty close from staying at the hotel when this first all started earlier this season. We stay in touch as well.

OLIVE: When I was talking to Mike Matheson a few weeks ago, he said that you also join the guys on XBOX for some Call of Duty from time to time. Are you still doing that?

STILLMAN:Yeah, I'll do that from time to time. I'll jump on and check in to see how the guys are doing. It's fun. You get some of those feelings that you miss from being at the rink every day. It's nice to chat with those guys and hopefully we can get back to playing hockey soon.

OLIVE: Are there hobbies you've picked up over the last seven weeks that you normally wouldn't be doing if you didn't have all of this extra time at home on your hands?

STILLMAN: Yes and no. In Phoenix, golf is an essential service. We're obviously trying to stay away from people as best we can, but you can go putt on the course at night when no one is around. I've been working on a little bit of that. Other than that, I've been reading a lot more than I ever have in the past, which has been pretty cool. It really helps pass the time.

OLIVE: What have you been reading lately?

STILLMAN: The book I'm reading right now is Unbroken. I read Band of Brothers and a couple other books this year. Unbroken is about an American POW during the second World War in the Pacific. It's actually really interesting. It's like a biography and tells it through his point of view.

OLIVE: How do you typically discover new books these days? Is it more through word of mouth or do just go with the recommendations on Amazon and other sites that like?

STILLMAN:It's word of mouth. Guys at the gym over the last couple years have recommended a lot of books. I do Amazon sometimes, but typically it's word of mouth. A person will have read a book and then tell you to check it out, or I'll ask someone if they've read anything good lately. If I don't get hooked on a book in the first day, I'll pass on it. But that hasn't happened this year.

OLIVE: When you're on the couch and don't have a book in your hands, have you checked out any new movies or TV shows lately?

STILLMAN:A little bit. I watched Money Heist. That was actually really good. And then my brother just got me started on Outer Banks on Netflix.

OLIVE: How does the cooking situation work between you and Sam Lafferty?

STILLMAN:We split it. It's pretty easy. Whatever is needed at a certain time, we pretty much split everything 50-50. Sam's usually on breakfast duty and I'm usually on lunch duty. For dinner, it's a split.

OLIVE: Is there a signature dish that you've been eating a lot for dinner?

STILLMAN: We eat a lot of red meat and greens. With the amount that we're training, we want to make sure the healthy fats stay in there and that we're able to keep our bodyweight where we want it. We also want to make sure that we're recovering and training at the same rate.

OLIVE: When it comes to training, how do you work on also staying mentally sharp?

STILLMAN:I think it's just about expecting the fact that we're going to come back to play. Everyone wants to play. It's sort of the unknown right now. Nobody knows what's going on. There's been some ideas, but I try and stay away from some of the stuff that you see, all of the different random scenarios. I follow the NHLPA and what they've been doing closely. It's about expecting that we're coming back and making sure that I'm ready to go whenever we do.

OLIVE: At the time of the pause, the Panthers were only three points out of a playoff spot with 13 games left to play. The team had also won two straight games, including a 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. Given how the team was playing at that point, does that make it that much more exciting to come back?

STILLMAN:It really does. We had a good finish before the All-Star break and then had a bit of a lull after that. But to have those two games before the pause and to play the way we wanted to play before things shut down really was a positive for all of us. We're here, we have an opportunity, and we want to win. Obviously, I want to win every night. The same goes for everybody in that room. We were on the right track and still have an opportunity to do that.

OLIVE: On a personal note, you played in 34 games prior to the pause. Now that you've had some time to reflect, how would you sum up your rookie season up until this point?

STILLMAN:It was big for me. The opportunity that I was given by the coaching staff and the teammates that welcomed me was really big. Going into this year, I didn't know what to expect. Obviously, I wanted to make the team out of training camp, but I ended up being in sort of that last round of cuts. All in all, I think it's been a positive year. I had an opportunity that came up when I got called up at Christmas. I tried to take advantage of it as much as I could. I ended up playing some more minutes than I thought I was going to at the time, but I loved every minute of it. It was a good start to, hopefully, my NHL career.

Stay tuned for more "Cats Check-Ins" with your favorite Panthers!