Hi hockey fans.
I hope everyone had a healthy and safe American Thanksgiving.
I'm grateful that the family of my teammate Shane Lachance (son of former NHL defenseman Scott Lachance) invited us over to their house for Thanksgiving. The Lachance family had a bunch of the freshmen over, so it was a lot of fun. It's a tradition at Boston University for local families to host those from out of town regardless of class so that everyone has somewhere to go.
I know Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving are a little different since they happen on different dates (Canada's was Oct. 9 this year), but for me, Thanksgiving is about being with family. On a normal Thanksgiving, we'd have cousins and everyone together. Probably having everyone in the same place for a night is the best part about the holiday for me. I'm not a huge fan of the meals.
Family means a lot to me. My family is the reason me and my brothers are where we are today.
My dad, Rick, with his specialty (he's the director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA) and how he's pushed us ... we couldn't have done it without him or my mom.
Growing up, I wasn't a huge basketball fan, but ever since my dad started working with the Warriors, I started to become more of a fan. Me and my brother play at home, but not too much more than that. My family lives in San Francisco, so when we're not here in Boston, we go home and, in the summer, go up to Vancouver to be together.
It was pretty cool hanging out with my dad when I was younger and getting a chance to meet some professional athletes. For me, meeting NHL forward Ryan Kesler and goalie Mike Smith was huge. We skated with them when I was younger, when my dad worked with the Canucks, so those are two keys memories that I have of meeting professional athletes.
Our team (9-3-1) has been playing well of late, we have won five in a row, and we're all excited for the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday against Cornell (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+). We're playing a good team in an NHL rink, so it's going to be pretty cool. The whole trip to New York City is like an event, so I think we're all really excited for that.
I have spoken to a few teammates who have played at Madison Square Garden and, aside from the fact that we haven't won there in a couple of years, they just say it's a great trip, so I'm looking forward to it. (Boston University is 3-3 with two ties against Cornell at Madison Square Garden since 2007, with the Big Red winning each of the past three games).
Over the past couple weeks or so, I feel like we've really started to gel and become more used to each other. We're building some chemistry, and that's a positive sign. I feel like that's a huge part of any success. It's always an adjustment having a new group, so building that chemistry and that resiliency we've shown and the way we've responded with this group I feel has been the biggest thing.
Personally, I feel like I've just been sticking to my game. I'm not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I'm not trying to play away from my game. I'm playing to my strengths and just kind of using my teammates, and obviously they're supporting me, so it's been good.
Thank you for reading this month.
