First-year forward Jared Boll is this week's player in “Breaking the Ice with…” The feature will be a season long series on plymouthwhalers.com and showcase a different Whaler each week so we can get to know them better.
Acquired this summer from Kingston, Boll played the last two seasons in the United States Hockey League. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 4th round (101st overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft. Boll's energy and in-your-face style of play have already made him a fan favorite in Plymouth. The Crystal Lake, Illinois, native took a few minutes before practice to help us break the ice.
» On the best advice he has been given…
“Just skate as hard as you can every shift because you never know when it’s going to be your last.”
» On his most memorable goal…
“When I was in midgets, we played in the Mac’s tournament in Calgary over Christmas, and I scored against Team Sweden. They were a good team and I think it was the semis. It was a big game and we won it, so that was a pretty big goal.”
 » On his youth hockey highlight…
“It would be in midgets when we ended up winning that Mac’s tournament. That was the biggest tournament I have ever won. It was a big deal and a lot of fun.”
» On what championships he has won…
“We won the Mac’s and I’ve won just a couple tournaments when I was younger. We actually lost the national championship in midgets to Shattuck’s St. Mary’s.”
» On how he started playing hockey…
“I was kind of older, around 4 or 5, when I started skating. My dad just got me into it. He just asked me if I wanted to play and I have been playing ever since.”
» On if he has ever played with any of the guys on the team before…
”I played with Gino (Pisellini) my midget major year with TI (Team Illinois).”
» On his most embarrassing hockey moment…
“Actually it was recently, just a few weeks ago, Bear (Equipment Manager Marc Baron) was telling us to watch out for the carpets in Ottawa. I thought he was talking about the one at center ice. So once I passed the one at center ice, I wheeled around the back of the net and didn’t see these gray carpets and tripped over those. All the guys got a pretty good laugh out of it.”
» On his hit on Robbie Drummond in London…
“That was actually one of my better moments as a Whaler. It was just an open ice hit; I think he had his head down. We were both just skating pretty fast. I have watched it a couple times and I think it was a clean hit. He just had his head down. His helmet came off and he ended up hitting his head on the ice and I think that’s how he got hurt the most. There were just a bunch of fights after that, one just after another. Then the benches almost cleared and it got out of hand.”
» On playing in the USHL…
“It was a really good experience for me. It helped me mature, both hockey-wise and off the ice. I played with Lincoln my first year and then last year I was their captain. It was just a good experience with good coaches, a good organization. It just helped me grow as a player and as a person.”
 » On the USHL All-Star Game…
”It was a lot of fun. It was at the University of North Dakota’s rink, the Ralph Englestad Arena, which is supposedly one of the nicest rinks in North America. It was a lot of fun and a good experience.”
» On choosing major junior over college hockey…
“It’s more of my style of play. The hitting aspect and you can fight. There are a lot more games in the season, so it gets you ready for the NHL or your next level. I think the OHL is just more my style of game than college would have been.”
» On who has influenced him in hockey…
“My dad. He comes as much as he can. He’s been there every step of the way with me whether it’s good times, like getting drafted, or when I’m in a slump for a couples weeks or a couple of days. He’s always there to help me get out of it.”
» On attending the Columbus Blue Jackets' camps…
“It was a really good experience. Rookie camp was a lot of fun. We actually ended up winning the little rookie tournament that we played in. I got invited to main camp which was a lot of fun because guys like Rick Nash and Adam Foote were there. It was a great experience skating with them and it just showed me what I need to work on to make it to the next level.”
» On being drafted…
“It was a really good experience. I actually didn’t get to go to the draft because they only invited the first 20 guys, so I was just at home. My dad and I were on the phone with my agent and the fourth round came around, and he said ‘Columbus is going to take you in the fourth round,’ and I actually didn’t even see that they had a draft pick, but they ended up trading with Toronto to get me in the fourth round. Then Columbus called me and talked to me. I was pretty excited.”
» On the trade process…
“I heard good things about Kingston too, but I kind of wanted to stay near home. I wanted to stay in the States and play hockey in the U.S. I knew Plymouth had a good organization. We talked to Coach Vellucci for a little bit. I knew he was a good coach. I wanted to come to Plymouth, so they made a trade for me.”
» On the player he tries to model his game after…
“Probably, a guy like Rick Nash. Obviously, he can score; he’s one of the best goal scorers in the NHL. He’s big, he’s strong, and he goes to the net. He just plays the power forward game.”
» On his pre-game routine…
“I try to wake up at a decent hour and not sleep all day. I just hang out around the house. I eat a pre-game meal, usually pasta. My billets make really good pasta.”
» On his superstitions…
“I have a couple, but they’re hard to explain.”
» On his nicknames…
“Usually the guys just call me Bollsy. Gino has his own nickname for me. He calls me Loney, but it goes pretty far back.”
» On the toughest player he has ever played against…
“Rick Nash in the NHL camp.”
» On if there is anything behind his jersey number…
“Not really. The year before Lincoln, I wore number 7, and I’ve just been wearing it for the past four years.”
 » On what he'd do if he didn't play hockey…
“I would probably try to be a golfer. I think it’s the next best sport after hockey. “
» On what type of player he should be for the team…
“A physical presence, a person who can chip in with goals every now and then, get a few points, fight when I need to, and spark the team in any way I can to just get the team rolling.”
» On his best fight so far…
“I had a couple good ones. Probably one of the (Brian) Soso fights. He plays for Windsor and him and I fight a lot, so probably one of those.”
» On his funniest teammate…
“I’d have to say James Neal because I’m around him the most. We make the same type of jokes and we only laugh at each other’s jokes.”
» On living with James Neal…
“It’s fun. He’s pretty funny, so we have a good time. It’s always good to have a guy there too, so you don’t get too bored.”
» On the craziest thing that has happened on the road…
“I think last year, we were in Waterloo, and there was a pretty big fight in the stands. They ended up stopping the game because of what was going on in the stands. It was pretty bad.”
 » On the person he would most like to meet…
“God.”
» On one thing he could not live without…
“A bed to sleep in.”
» On his dream goal…
“To win the whole thing in the Mem Cup, no matter who it was against.”
» On his dream vacation…
“Somewhere south and just get away from the cold. My dad really likes it down south, so we’d probably just go down with the rest of my family, and just do something down there.”
» On the rule changes in hockey…
“I think they help the game out. There’s more scoring and more excitement for the fans. So, no, I wouldn’t change anything about it.”
» On what TV show he would be on…
“I would be on the Real World.”
» On what other five players he would want on the ice with him…
“Rick Nash and Steve Yzerman, on defense Nick Lidstrom and Bobby Orr, and in net Kelly Hrudey.”
» On who would win in a fight between him and Gino…
“Ha, ha. It depends on what night it is.”
-Natalie Shaver, February 6th, 2006-
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