 Rookie forward RJ Mahalak is featured in this edition of “Breaking the Ice with…” The feature showcases different Whalers so we can get to know them.
Selected by the Whalers in the 4th round (80th overall) in the 2007 OHL Entry Draft, Mahalak won the State and National Championship last season with BelleTire. Mahalak played half the season as a 15-year-old this year and is not eligible until the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The Monroe, Michigan, native, took a few minutes after practice to help us break the ice and chat about how his parents bribed him into playing hockey, cutting off his own cast to play in a game, and what RJ stands for.
» On the best advice he has been given…
“Never give up.”
» On how he started playing hockey…
“They built a rink in Monroe in about 1998. I didn’t really want to play hockey, but my parents kind of made me. I’m thankful for that. My parents bribed me into playing hockey by taking me to Disneyland. The trip was already planned, so it isn’t so bad, but that’s how I ended up playing hockey – by being promised a trip to Disneyland.”
» On the best part of the Quebec Pee Wee Tournament…
“The billeting experience.”
» On his youth hockey highlight…
“Winning the national championship.”
» On how he played in the championship game with a broken arm…
“I cut my cast off and taped my arm up real good. I took a lot of pain killers too. It ended working out.”
» On if the championship mentality has carried over to this season…
“I would like to think so, but it hasn’t really since it’s a different level of hockey.”
 » On what other championships he has won…
“Our team last year was unreal. We only lost seven games all year, so we basically every tournament we played in. The London Tournament was a big one and then obviously the State and National Championship.”
» On his most embarrassing hockey moment…
“The same one as Carney’s (Taylor Carnevale). We were in London and me, Carney, and TJ Brown were not getting any ice time at all. We kept telling TJ Brown to go out on the ice when he wasn’t supposed to and he got real rattled at us each time he’d come back. Then when we were going to the locker room after the period there were these two Burger King guys, just standing there with masks on and it looked hilarious, so me and TJ Brown started cracking up, but we were supposed to be serious since we were losing.”
» On his rookie year adjustments…
“It’s an adjustment to the speed of the game and I am taking a smaller role on the team. It was pretty easy adjusting to the new team, especially coming in with a good group of guys. We have a lot of rookies this year. Me and TJ Brown are still pretty close too, since we played together for 4 years.”
» On coming in as a 15-year-old…
“It was tough being the youngest guy on the team, but nobody really thought of me as the youngest. They just thought of me as one of the rookies.”
 » On who has influenced him in hockey…
“My coaches Kyle Krug and Jeff Bond. Jeff Bond was my coach at Compuware for 2 years from 2003-05 and then Kyle Krug was my coach at BelleTire for 2 years.”
» On if he has played with any of the guys before…
“I played with TJ (Tyler J.) Brown and I played against (Taylor) Carnevale.”
» On his most memorable goal…
“I scored a big goal at States. I actually came out against Little Caesar’s and scored two goals in the finals to help us win.”
» On who he tries to model his game after…
“Eric Lindros.”
» On what he should bring to the team…
“Physical presence and hopefully leadership in the locker room a few years down the line.”
» On the toughest player he has played against…
“Steven Stamkos because he’s so fast.”
» On picking major junior over college…
“It seemed like a better option at the time. Instead of waiting and going to school and playing hockey, I get to play at that level now while still in high school.”
» On if he grew up watching the Whalers…
“I grew up watching them, but I wasn’t really expecting to play for them. I had no idea what the OHL was at that time.”
» On billet life…
“My billets are great. Tom and Midge (Margaret Predhomme) do a good job and make me feel like family. Same with Jesse, it’s like having another brother. I love living with ‘The Rat’.”
» On if he has any superstitions…
“I have lots of superstitions. It’s just a bunch of little stuff like taping your stick a certain way, always putting your stuff on the left side first, getting dressed a certain way. Stuff like that.”
 » On if he has any nicknames…
“Jared Boll actually gave me my nickname this year. He lived with the Predhomme’s last year and he was asking Jesse about me. He has never met me before and didn’t really know my name. He just kind of read it somewhere and had it in the back of his head and he called me ‘Malarchuk’ instead of Mahalak, so now all the guys call me Malarchuk.”
» On his favorite class in school…
“Political economics because my teacher is a big Whalers fan.”
» On his typical day…
“Wake up at 6, go to school, eat lunch, do some more school, go to practice at 2, come home, actually go to sleep as soon as I get home, wake up around 10:30, eat dinner, do homework the rest of the night, and then go back to sleep.”
» On his pre-game routine…
“Sleep until about noon, get up and go for a little walk, get a pregame nap in, eat a pregame meal, and go to the rink.”
» On if there is anything behind his jersey number 11…
“There’s nothing behind it. It’s just a number. I wanted 21, but they had to hold it for Teapot (Tom Sestito) in case he came back. I was like ‘Bear (equipment manager Marc Baron), he’s not coming back’ but still couldn’t get it. Then (Anthony) Donati got it when he got called up earlier in the year.”
 » On what he'd be doing if he didn't play hockey…
“Going to school and getting my captain’s degree, so I could be the captain of a private yacht and charter boats.”
» On what RJ stands for…
“Ralph Joseph.”
» On his dream goal…
“I score it during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.”
» On his hockey aspirations…
“To win an OHL Championship.”
» On the craziest thing that has happened on the road…
“I room with Chris Terry on the road. He would always get up at like 3 in the morning and take a bath. I don’t know why, but it was so annoying. I’d be like, ‘What are you doing, just go to bed.’ I don’t know what he was thinking.”
» On his other hobby…
“In the summer, I like to go to my grandparents’ house in Florida and go deep sea fishing. They have a boat, so we go out and I caught a sail a few years ago, so that was pretty cool.”
 » On what reality TV show he'd be on…
“Survivor.”
» On his funniest teammate…
“(Andrew) Fournier and TJ Brown.”
» On what one thing he could not live without…
“Hockey.”
» On his dream vacation…
“Hawaii.”
» On the person he'd most like to meet…
“Jessica Alba.”
» On if he'd change any rules in hockey…
“Shooting the puck over the glass – just like everyone else says.”
» On what other players he would want on the ice with him…
“Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros up front. On defense, Nick Lidstrom and Scott Stevens. In goal, Patrick Roy.”
-Natalie Shaver, February 19th, 2008-
-- Other Players' "Breaking the Ice" Features --
|
