Get to know the Penguins' new additions in this series presented by HBK CPAS & Consultants.
New Penguins forward Mark Jankowski already has a few special connections to his new team and new city.
His great-uncle Red Kelly, a Hockey Hall of Famer who was named one of the NHL's 100 Greatest Players, was head coach and general manager of the Penguins from 1969-73 (for more on Jankowski's hockey bloodlines,
click here
).
Jankowski was then drafted right here in Pittsburgh back in 2012, when the Calgary Flames selected him in the first round (21st overall).
And he already has a familiar face among his new teammates, as Jankowski
played four years of college hockey at Providence alongside Brandon Tanev
. They captured the school's first-ever NCAA championship back in 2015.
Get to know the 26-year-old, who signed a one-year deal as a free agent back on Oct. 9, in this 1-on-1 interview.
Getting to Know: Mark Jankowski
What are your emotions on joining the Penguins?
I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity here. Obviously it's a great team with some great players, and being able to go to a new team but still know someone on the team really well with Brandon is great. As soon as it became official, he was probably the first person that called me and was super excited. So it's nice to have. Anytime you go to a new team and you don't really know anyone, it might be a little awkward at first. But to have someone like Brandon there, I think it's going to be a seamless transition.
How much are you looking forward to playing with someone like Sidney Crosby?
It's exciting. It really is. When I tell people about Pittsburgh or when people are congratulating me or something, usually the first thing they're saying is oh, you get to play with Sid, you're so lucky. So that's going to be exciting, for sure. If you talk to anyone, he's one of their biggest hockey heroes growing up and someone that you look up to and is just one of, if not the, best players in the world. So it's really cool to be able to play with someone and just be in the same locker room with someone of that statue.
Brandon said his college buddies nicknamed him Hossa. Were you one of those guys that was behind the nickname?
Well, I wasn't behind the nickname and honestly, right now I couldn't tell you why we nicknamed him Hossa. I can't even remember why. But to this day, in our group chats and when we're all together - like I can't remember what his nickname is in Pittsburgh - but I'm going to be around the locker room for sure calling him Hossa. My new teammates are going to be like, what are you talking about? Who's Hossa? (Laughs) I don't know why we called him that. But just whenever he's around, we're always calling him that.
What's your hockey nickname?
Mine's pretty standard. With my last name being Jankowski, people just shorten it and call me Janko or Janks, stuff like that. It's really nothing other than just using variations of my last name.
You were selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round (21st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, which took place in Pittsburgh. What moments do you remember the most from that day?
That was a long day. It was a fun day. I remember I was in prep school down in Quebec, and my high school graduation was the same day of the draft. So I was trying to decide if I was going to go to the draft or if I was going to stay for graduation, and then kind of made a last-minute decision like oh, we should go to the draft. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I took my last calculus exam and I think I probably left it half blank because I was nowhere near thinking of calculus at that time (laughs). Finished the exam and my dad was there. The car was already packed and we drove straight to Pittsburgh right away. That day of the draft was a long day. I had meetings with a couple teams that morning, and then had to get ready to go to the rink for the draft. Just hearing my name called was the biggest thing. Honestly, I kind of blacked out. I heard my name called and I stood up and turned to my brother or my dad. One of them was the first one I hugged, and then you go down the line. And then after that, I don't remember anything until after I was on the stage. I don't remember walking up to the stage or anything. Just so many things are going through your head, and it was a really cool and really special moment, like everyone says.
What's something people might not know about you?
Some people might not know growing up I was a pretty good baseball player. Growing up I won two Canadian national championships and had a couple teammates go on to play on Canadian national teams. One teammate who's currently on San Diego, he's in the MLB, is catcher Carson Kelly. He was on St. Louis and got traded to Arizona. So yeah, I guess I was a pretty big baseball player growing up. Those were the two sports I played, hockey and baseball.
Are you a fan of any MLB teams?
Yeah, I'm a Yankee fan. I guess people probably aren't going to be too happy about that in Pittsburgh (laughs).
What are your superstitions?
I'm not very superstitious. I'd say my only superstition is to not be superstitious. That's always been my kind of rule. I pride myself on just being someone that doesn't have to do the same thing every day. I don't have to be worried about whether I'm doing this or doing that. I like to be a little more relaxed, I guess. And I'm probably one of the only hockey players that's not very superstitious. I think hockey players have a reputation of being very superstitious. So I'm kind of the opposite.
What do you do when you're not at the rink?
I just like hanging out. During the summer when the weather's nice, I like golfing now, like every other hockey player (laughs). And just hanging out with friends. I have a dog with my girlfriend, so taking her to the park and stuff, just enjoying that. I like playing cards a lot now. I like playing on the plane and just with my family and friends, we'll play card games and stuff. Not huge into video games, a little bit here and there, but not crazy like that. So I'd say those are the big things.
What kind of dog is it? And what's their name?
It's a golden retriever. Her name is Lucy.
What card games do you like to play?
I like playing shnarps and 13 Up. Those are the two big ones that we usually play on the plane. Euchre is another big one. Those three.
What kind of music do you listen to?
A little bit of everything. Whatever is on the Top Hits. I like country, DJ and house music - usually before games I like that, just the upbeat stuff to get me going. I'd say those are those are the main ones, but a little bit of everything.
Is there one movie you can watch over and over?
The Other Guys. That's a good one.
What about TV shows? Are there any that you recommend to people? Are you as into Seinfeld as your buddy Brandon?
He is a big Seinfeld guy (laughs). Never seen Seinfeld but I'm a huge Friends guy. So competing with Seinfeld there. We've had some battles of what's better? I do have to watch Seinfeld. I know it's a classic. But I've seen Friends a million times.
Who's your best friend in hockey?
Brandon's up there. My best friends in hockey probably all stem from my time at Providence. There's a few of us who are in the NHL or pro hockey, so Brandon being on Pittsburgh is one of them for sure. And then Kevin Rooney, we were roommates as well at Providence. He's on New York now. John Gilmour, we were also roommates at Providence, and he's played in New York and Buffalo a little bit. Jon Gillies was in our class; he was in Calgary with me. And so we were pretty fortunate to have such a close class where we still hang out all the time every year to this day. And we were also all fairly good enough to be able to make it the NHL, so we're pretty fortunate in that sense.
Is the best vacation you ever took the one you and Brandon took with your graduating class?
Yeah, I'd say that. That's up there. Every summer, every offseason usually up until now because of the pandemic, we've always had a boys' trip with our class where we'd go somewhere. Our first one was to Cancun right after we graduated. That's where that tradition started, and so I'd say yeah, that's probably the best one.
What would be your job if you didn't play hockey?
I'd like to think I'd be a baseball player, but I don't know, that's pretty tough. I don't know what I would do outside of sports. I think I'd want to do something inside hockey. It's what I know the best in life, I'd say. Just something on the business side of hockey would be something. I haven't really thought about it too much. But I'd want to stay in in hockey because it's what I know.
What's your ideal meal?
Chicken parm, probably. I was trying to decide between that or steak, just a nice steak or chicken parm. Maybe a little bit of both.
Are you a coffee drinker? And if so, what's your order?
No, I don't drink coffee at all. I drink tea. I like just a black Earl Grey or something. Pretty standard.
And finally, what's the best hockey advice you've gotten from members of your family?
The biggest thing I think that anyone has told me - whether it be my dad or my grandpa or my great-uncle - everyone always says work hard and have fun. Those are the two biggest things that I think will help you be successful and help you have a good career in whatever it is you're doing. If you work hard and you have fun, I think that's the most important thing. And if anyone asks me, any little kids wanting any advice or stuff like that, those words really hit home hard with me. So that's what I always like to share with people, just work hard and have fun.
