"We told Christian Jaros to get his own place," relayed Dorion. "That doesn't mean that he won't come back (to Belleville) but we told Christian that he'd be up for the year."
The news was obviously welcomed by Jaros who had been posted up in a hotel room for a little over three months. While he's definitely excited about his new living arrangements, he's well aware that he can't take his foot off the gas if he wants to continue to progress in the NHL.
"Of course I was really happy about that but it doesn't change anything for me," said Jaros. "It's not going to change the way I play and I'm still working hard and competing every day. It's nice to have my own place but it's not going to change anything about my game…I just sleep somewhere else now."
Spending that many consecutive days in a hotel sounds exhausting and despite the tight living quarters and lack of amenities, Jaros admitted that the roughest part was dealing with the lack of meal options.
"I was very happy to get out of the hotel. I didn't mind staying there but it was tough to deal with the food," he said. "Eating in restaurants all the time was the hardest part, I know all the menus for the restaurants nearby off the top of my head. Now I can finally eat homemade food again."
Between development camps, training camps and his NHL stints, Jaros has spent a fair amount of time in Ottawa over the past few years so when it came time to narrow down his ideal neighborhood he really only had one requirement: near Canadian Tire Centre.
"I love being at the rink. I feel the more I'm here, the more work I can put in on the ice and in the gym," said Jaros who is routinely one of the first to arrive and last to leave at CTC. "It makes me feel more confident on the ice because I know that I'm prepared. Plus, I like to hang out with the boys so a lot of the time I don't want to leave."
