Catching up with… Jake Allen

MONTREAL -- Jake Allen and his family spend the offseason in his hometown of Fredericton, NB.

SHOP: Embroidered Canadiens bucket hat
We recently caught up with the veteran goaltender ahead of
his sixth annual fundraising golf tournament
, which will be held on Thursday at Kingswood Park Golf Course in nearby Hanwell.
The Jake Allen Classic has raised $415,000 for charities in the area.

This year, the event will be supporting youth-focused projects from seven organizations, including Youth in Transition, YMCA of Fredericton, and Jobs Unlimited.
Here are some highlights from our chat with Jake:
Allen on training for next season:
I've set myself up with a nice little routine here over the last three or four years. We have a great setup at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). I have great guys to skate with and a great facility to work out in, so I'm very lucky that way. I work with UNB goalie coach Kyle MacDonald. Kyle understands my game really well. He watches a lot of my games and my film from the season. Overall, I'm feeling good on the ice. I've been on the ice probably 20 times so far, so I feel like I've skated a lot. When I had the groin injury at the end of the year, I wanted to get my feet back on the ice early, and now I'm ready to rock. I'm looking forward to getting back to Montreal later this month and then settling in before camp. The summer has been fast, but it's been really good and efficient for me.
Allen on spending summers in his hometown:
It's great. It's the closest place, distance-wise, for our family. We've been back and forth to Montreal a few times. It's just very convenient. My family and my wife's family are both still based here in Fredericton. We both grew up here, so it's a very simple transition. You really couldn't beat it! Playing for the Canadiens during the season and being able to come home in the summertime, just to have that simplicity in my life, is awesome. It makes things a lot easier. I love coming home. This is where I'm from. Eventually, I'll probably be back here when I get too old and slow to play hockey. It's a great spot. It's low-key, it's chill, and you can do your own thing. I really enjoy the time off. I make the most of it.

Allen on his favorite offseason activities:
I love to fly fish. I like to golf. I love to spend time with the kids. We've been spending a lot of time down at our cottage and just taking it all in. I've learned over the course of the summers how you really try to map it out. It goes fast, and you're right back into work mode. We went over to Prince Edward Island for a week with the kids. We do that every year in the summer. We just sort of stay local. We travel enough during the season, so I don't really want to travel a whole lot in the summer. We keep things simple and stay within our region in Atlantic Canada.
Allen on his passion for fly fishing:
I got into it because my dad was into it. Here in New Brunswick, it's a big pastime. I've always been so fascinated by the whole concept of it. It's my thing where I can go out there and I really don't have to worry about anything in the world at that moment in time. It sort of entrances me when I'm on the water. I like it that way. It completely takes me away from reality a little bit and lets me break off from the craziness of the world. If I could, I'd do it every day. The time doesn't allow that because of the training and the kids, but it's probably going to be my biggest pastime one day down the road. I can envision myself doing that daily during the fishing season. It has really become my main passion and taken over from golf.

Allen on his dad duties over the past few months:
Being a dad almost keeps you more in shape than going to the gym does. It's fun. The girls enjoy coming home, too, to see their friends here, and the grandparents. I think they're finally starting to realize what's going on. We go to Montreal in the winter and we come to New Brunswick in the summertime. They're at a fun age. Lennon is five and Reagan is four. They're very active and non-stop. We're always doing things and they're always up for something. We spend a lot of time outdoors. They really enjoy the summer.
Allen on the 2022-23 campaign:
I'm looking forward to seeing the guys again. That's number one. There's also a lot of excitement that we're bringing a lot of youth in, a lot of new faces, a lot of skill. There's just a lot of optimism around the group. I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm really looking forward to watching these kids grow. I'm one of the older guys on the team now, so I really want to help guide these kids and get them to be the best they can be. We'll see what the big kid [Juraj Slafkovsky] has in store. I'm really excited to skate with him. He looks like a very happy-go-lucky kid. That's great to have within our locker room. I'm looking forward to getting on the ice with him, and I'm sure he's going to blow a few pucks by me the first couple of times.