Stepping on the ice for the first time, wearing that little beanie, no helmet, that was so cool.
I think we may be doing that tomorrow for warmups, I’m not sure what the teams do, but I hope we can do that. It’s that really cool aspect of being a kid again and feeling that cold air on your face when you are playing and that is something you can’t really replicate indoors obviously.
It’s funny, I’ve been here at Wrigley so many times in my life, too many to count.
It’s been more in recent years since I’ve gotten older and been living downtown, it’s just really fun to come here in the summer, watch some baseball games and chill with friends. It’s such a good atmosphere at a well-known venue, it’s awesome to be here to play a hockey game here.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the first time I came here. When I was younger, I was never a huge baseball guy. When my family would go, I would always be bugging my parents to leave early. It was always so long and I didn’t do well in the heat for so long.
But, after being here so many times for baseball games, I think it will be cool for my parents to be able to come here to watch me play hockey. It’s such a cool atmosphere and really special to be able to play there and have all the fans all around you in a stadium that you aren’t used to playing at. It will be my mom and dad and my brother and sister at the game and they can’t wait.
My brother Eric was out there with me for the family skate today and that was awesome.
He plays for a team called the Chicago Storm special hockey team. He’s been playing since he was a little kid and he’s a goalie. He’s my No. 1 fan.
I think he was loving it out there. I’m sure having him out on the ice for this was such a special moment for him -- and for me too.
He loves paying attention to goalies and the gear they are wearing and he’s always asking me questions about the goalies. I try to get him a new piece of gear for Christmas, especially now that it comes a little bit easier for me, maybe just ask the trainers and stuff if they have anything laying around. It’s special for him to have the same hockey gear that pro hockey goalies are wearing. He loves everything about it.
I got him a chest protector this time. It was heavy duty, the real deal.
It’s very special for my family to be able to see Eric out there. It’s almost normal for me now so it’s hard for me to see it from the outside perspective of my family watching it. But, I am sure for them, it’s wild to see their son out there getting ready to play in the Winter Classic and have their other son out there skating on the ice. It’s such a cool thing.
I watched a ton of these games as a kid.
We had an outdoor rink and so you are always skating out there as a kid, so it’s always something you dreamt about doing. And to be able to do this, to play in a Winter Classic in my hometown is something so special. I don’t want to overanalyze this game, so I don’t think about the circumstances too much. I want to treat this like a game at the United Center, but at the same time you, have to realize the beauty of playing in a Winter Classic and how rare it is. So, you have to appreciate that, but also approach the same way you normally would.
Tonight, I’m just going to go out to dinner with the family and then head home and lay low, maybe watch some TV and lay around, nothing crazy. I won’t be watching hockey. I don’t watch too often. I feel like I get enough at the rink and sometimes it’s nice to watch a show and get away from it.
One of the things I am most excited about tomorrow is our arrival here at Wrigley. It’ll be special. I don’t know if anyone has ever done what we have in mind. We have a good idea planned and hopefully it’s executed to perfection. I won’t reveal any details. Wait and see!
