Q&A: Catching up with Cousins at Training Camp

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Nick Cousins made a lifetime of memories in 2022-23.

In his first season with the Panthers, the 30-year-old forward matched his career-high with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in the regular season and provided some heroics in the playoffs.

Sending the Panthers to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1996, his game-winning goal in overtime in Toronto will be on highlight reels for many, many years to come.

Finding a new gear during that epic playoff run, he found his greatest success playing on the second line alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. With a new season on the horizon, head coach Paul Maurice plans to give that talented trio a chance to keep building together.

“He’s a smart player and he’s creative,” Maurice said of Cousins, who already has 523 career NHL games under his belt. “The strength of him is that he has a little bite to him, he has a little grit to him. He’s not afraid to go in the heavy areas. The three of them have that in common.”

Following the third day of training camp at the Panthers IceDen on Saturday, I had a chance to catch up with Cousins to talk about his expectations for this season, his summer and more.

OLIVE: First and foremost, how are the legs feeling after these first few days of camp?

COUSINS: Yeah, it’s been fast-paced and intense. A lot of skating, but that’s what camp is for. You’re trying to get your legs back underneath you. The pace has been high. It’s good to be back with all the boys, and the energy is certainly high. It’s been a lot of fun.

OLIVE: Would you say this year’s camp is even a bit tougher than last year’s camp?

COUSINS: Yeah, I would say so. Just for me personally I think I kind of know what to expect. I’m comfortable around everyone here, the guys and the coaching staff. I know Paul’s style of play very well from last year. The intensity has certainly been high, and I’m just trying to help out wherever I can for the guys that are new.

OLIVE: Hard to believe that you’re getting ready for your 10^th season in the NHL?

COUSINS: It goes by fast. It feels like yesterday that it was Year 1 for me. I’m obviously fortunate to play in this league for that long. It’s Year 10, but I still get butterflies on Day 1 of camp. I’m certainly still excited to be here and play in this league. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

OLIVE: How much does that experience help in terms of getting ready for a new season?

COUSINS: Yeah, exactly. It’s just trying to fine-tune little parts of your game -- your timing in the neutral zone, your timing with the puck, making plays under pressure. It’s also those high-intensity things that you don’t get over the summer. Just ramping up and getting ready for that first game.

OLIVE: You had a lot of magical moments playing with Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett during the playoffs. How nice was it to be reunited with those two guys at the start of camp?

COUSINS: Yeah, obviously there’s familiarity there. They’re two highly-skilled players. Benny’s skating really well right now. He’s hard to keep up with out there [laughs]. You look at Chucky and it doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat from last year. Hoping we can build off that chemistry we had last year and take it into the season.

OLIVE: How much do you think the playoffs last season changed the way you look at your own game?

COUSINS: That’s a great question. I feel like the playoffs, for me personally, it gave me a lot of confidence going into the summer. I worked really hard this summer on certain things. I’ve been feeling really good here the first few days. Playing with those two, they make it really easy for me. I think last year went a long ways for my confidence, just the fact that I know I can play with those two and complement those two well. Hopefully I’ll just be able to carry that into this year.

OLIVE: Did you make it back home this summer?

COUSINS: Yeah, back to Belleville.

OLIVE: What was it like going back to Ontario after being the guy that eliminated Toronto?

COUSINS: Buddy, it’s crazy. It felt like every time that I saw somebody it was the first thing they said to me. Some people were certainly more happy than others. There’s some people that actually don’t like the Leafs back where I’m from. It’s one of the first things that people bring up when I haven’t seen them in a while. Even people I didn’t know would come up and talk to me about it. It’s cool in that aspect. Obviously I grew up two hours from Toronto. To be able to do that at a place like Scotiabank Arena, it’s a cool moment that I’ll be able to carry with me forever.

OLIVE: While there’s obviously some new guys in the locker room, a lot of you guys that went on that run to the Stanley Cup Final are back for a second go-around this season. What does it mean to have so many guys that shared in that unforgettable experience trying to run it back?

COUSINS: I feel like the experience that we had and went through as a team will only benefit us. That magical run that we had last year, we need to carry that into the start of this year. We have to get off to a better start than we had last year. Obviously it’s not going to be an easy task with two of our best D out in Monty (Brandon Montour) and Ekkie (Aaron Ekblad). We’re not going to be able to replace those two. They’re special players. But everyone is going to have to come together to help carry the load. We have a lot of depth on D, so somebody is going to be able to step in there for us and take advantage of the opportunity.

OLIVE: One of those new defenseman is veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a former teammate of yours with the Coyotes. What’s it like being back with him and what does he bring to the table?

COUSINS: It’s great to see him again. He’s so smooth back there. I just remember when I was in Arizona that he was playing out of his mind for us. He’s a good puck-mover and really, really smart with the puck. He’s a big body and has played in over 900 games. Those kind of guys don’t really grow on trees. There’s going to be an opportunity there for him. I know he’s champing at the bit to take advantage of it.

OLIVE: There were a lot of fans lining up along the glass during Saturday’s practice. What does it mean to see that kind of support and how nice is it just to play in front of a crowd again?

COUSINS: It’s great. You don’t see that in the summer skates. It’s just nice to get back in a formal setting and have the intensity really high. It’s the stuff you miss, especially after that playoff intensity that we had. The guys are excited and appreciate it, for sure.