Vince Papale - Retro Interview

 

Family matters

Millions embraced the movie "Invincible" when it was released in 2006. That feature offered a snapshot of Vincent Francis Papale and his unlikely football career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The passion in Papale's voice was most noticeable during the afternoon I spent with the Glenolden, Pennsylvania native. Not passion about himself, but about the people who have been and are significant in his life. He began by telling me about his own children.

"I'm really blessed. My life is my family. Everything is about them," Papale said.

He and his wife Janet have been married since 1993. They have two children, Gabriella and Vincent Joseph.

Gabriella, their daughter, is 17. She is an outgoing high school junior whose combined goals are to become a broadcast journalist and a Victoria Secret model. She is a cheerleader and works as a manager for the lacrosse team. Like her mother Janet, she is also a dancer.

"Gabriella is great with children. I support what she wants to do and also think that a tremendous profession for her would be as a school teacher. She is one of fifteen students who have been chosen at her high school to go to New Orleans later this year. They will be helping to rebuild homes in the areas that were affected by Katrina."

Vincent Joseph is Papale's 14-year-old son, whose dream is to follow in his father's footsteps and play in the National Football League.

"Vinny rules the world. His favorite player is Wes Welker of the New England Patriots. He's funny and has a lot of voices and characters, like Jim Carey. He's a gentle, kind, kid who participates in a program at school called 'Peer Leadership', which is an anti-bullying initiative."

Due to budget cuts, that program had been on the chopping block. Through the Papale's efforts and the involvement of Dick Vermeil, funds have been raised that will allow the program to continue for at least the next two years.

Cinder Block City

Life wasn't like a movie when Papale was growing up with his parents and an older sister. They lived in a housing project, in the Glendale section of Philadelphia, which he referred to as 'Cinder block city.'

"They built the place on a golf course and there was a creek that ran through our backyard. That is where I hung out when I was young."

Papale's mother, Almira Sage, was one of nine in her family. She was a professional baseball player in the 1930's, but don't think "A League of their Own." She barnstormed up and down the East Coast in a women's hardball league. She was also a diver, swimmer and a dancer. His mother wanted to be an Olympian, but the Great Depression, World War II and having to work to help her family, prevented that from happening.

Vince's father, Frank Papale, went by the nickname 'Kingie' and was also one of nine. Frank's mother died when he was born. His father, Vincenzo Papale, persevered through that hardship and through the discrimination that many Italian immigrants faced in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Vincenzo was a pig farmer, a cello player, a semi-pro football, a baseball player and a runner. He participated in the Penn Relays, as his namesake grandson would also come to do many years later.

Kingie and Almira

'Kingie' met his future wife, Almira, at a football game after getting into a fight with a player from the opposing team. That player turned out to be his future brother-in-law.

Like other men in the area, he provided for his family by working at a blue collar job on the Delaware River. He called Westinghouse his workplace home for 40 years. Because of the long hours his Dad spent at his job, young Vince caught passes that were thrown by his mother in their backyard.

The blending of prevalent athletic family genes and a strong free will, naturally made competitive sports a part of Papale's life.

"I knew I was good at sports from Day 1. Every July Fourth we raced at Glenolden Park. I would win all of the races for the 8 and under, 9 and under, 10 and under. People would bet on me. I ran barefoot and was known as Seabiscuit."

But, life wasn't all fun and games. One day in 1958, as Papale was coming home from school, he saw his mother being taken away in an ambulance. She was later diagnosed with Tinnitus, which is a ringing sensation in one, or both, ears. The condition permanently influenced her health and the life of her family.

A good coach makes a difference

Papale grew in size and experience during his teenage years. The roots of his nature were also forming through a number of positive influences, as many important coaches came into his life.

"One of the reasons I give, is because people gave of themselves to me," Papale said.

A lasting relationship was formed when Papale met George Corner, who was his first male teacher at Interboro Junior High School. An imposing man, Corner was also was the school's football and basketball coach. One day Corner passed by the lunch table where Papale was eating.

"I had been saying some unpleasant things about my mom and he told me that he didn't appreciate what he had heard."

Corner relayed to him that his own mother and sister had serious health issues when he was young. He told Papale that he understood how his mother's condition could affect his home life. He also told him that he would be there if he ever needed him.

"I leaned on him a lot and he took me under his wing."

Papale was 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighed only 75 pounds when he was in the seventh grade. By ninth grade, after he had grown to be 4 feet 11 inches tall and had gained another 20 pounds, he decided to try out for the football team.

"Coach Corner let me try out for the team and I made it. I also ran track and was a guard on the basketball team."

Marty Stern

His track coach, Marty Stern, became another mentor. Stern had just graduated from West Chester and like Papale was tough, despite his small stature.

"He was a little guy, who wasn't much bigger than me, but he could run like the wind. I had great speed, but he refined my style and made me feel really special."

New school - old coach

Papale initially faced a different atmosphere than he was use to when he first went to high school. The head football coach told him that he was too small to play on the team and so he didn't become a member of it. However, he did play basketball.

When he was a senior in high school an old mentor came back into his life, as coach Corner accepted a position as the head football and track coach.

"Coach Corner did the same thing that Dick Vermeil did for me years later, he broke the rules. Normally, first year seniors aren't allowed to come out for football, but I was. I wound up leading the team in receptions and touchdowns. I went on to become an honorable mention wide receiver as a 5 foot 7 inch, 160 pound player."

Papale broke his wrist shortly after Thanksgiving, 1963. Because of how bad it was shattered, he was told that he would never be able to use his hand again. But, he willed himself through to recovery.

Corner asked him to go out for track in the spring so that he could get into shape for the upcoming football season. Papale wanted to pole vault, but Corner said that he had promised his father that he wouldn't allow him to do that.

As a boy, Papale had practiced vaulting in his backyard using metal clothes line poles. Because they were so easily bent, he started using bamboo poles instead. Those poles, that were originally used in the middle of rugs, helped him vault up to 8 feet in the air before he landed on a makeshift bed of mattresses.

Papale has bamboo poles in his backyard these days as well. He will be using them to help his son practice vaulting.

The hairy eyeball

During his first track meet against Media, Papale's father unexpectedly appeared.

"I didn't know that he was going to be there. He came walking up in his Westinghouse blues and gave me the 'hairy eyeball' look, but didn't say anything."

Papale's father saw his son set the school pole vault record that day. He went on to win county, suburban and district championships. He also finished fifth in a state competition.

On Father's Day 1964, he went head-to-head against the best pole vaulters in the Tri-State area. Three of his competitors had been given scholarships to Villanova, LaSalle and St. Joe's. In dual meets he led off by winning the 440 meter relay and ran first and second in the high hurdles. He also won the long jump, the triple jump and the pole vault competitions.

Papale jumped 18 inches higher on that day than he ever had before. Four colleges offered him track scholarships before he left the field.

Onto college

By the time Papale was ready to go to college, he had grown to be 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds. He was accepted into the West Chester state teacher's college. Walt Buechle was their freshman football coach and said that he would let Papale try out for the football team as a walk-on freshman.

Even though the school didn't have a football program, Papale decided to attend St. Joseph's University where he received a track scholarship. When he was a junior, he won the United States Track and Field Federation award at Madison Square Garden as a result of his14 foot 6 inch vault.

"Great coaches instill discipline, fundamentals and consistency. They are organized and fair. You know exactly where they stand," Papale said.

College coaches Rich Branton, Bob Cindico, Lou Nicastro and Kevin Quinn taught him that he could be a tough guy and a nice guy at the same time.

"My coaches were all school teachers. One of the big factors that is currently being lost in sports is the teaching element."

Freddy

After graduating from St. Joe's with a Masters degree in Marketing and Management Science, Papale accepted a job as a track coach at a familiar location, Interboro High School.

During the spring of his first year as coach, Papale called for a weekend practice session to help his track team prepare for an upcoming meet. Because it was scheduled during the Easter holiday weekend, all senior team members chose to boycott practice. Papale decided that his runners needed to face consequences for their actions. So, he suspended them from participating in the upcoming meet.

"The first dual meet we were going to have, I was going to bend and let them back in, but I didn't. We lost that meet by one point."

One of the runners who did understand the value of discipline and sacrifice was Freddy Leopold. He had practiced and was going to participate in that dual meet.

"Freddy came from 50 yards behind in the mile relay. He got to the finish line and gave it everything he had, but was a yard behind the winner. Even without the seniors participating, if we had won that event, we would have won the meet."

Papale still has a photo of him holding Leopold in his arms after the race. The young runner pictured went on to serve his country as a medic in the military. He was killed after stepping on a land mine in Vietnam.

"To this day, I still get chills when I think about him in that race."

The NFL and Hollywood

Invincible became a movie because its subject, Papale, never stopped pursuing his dreams. In the 1970s, while teaching and coaching, he also played semi-professional football and was a member of the World Football League's Philadelphia Bell.

In 1976, Eagles coach Dick Vermeil announced open tryouts for the team. At 30, Papale became the oldest rookie to ever make the roster of an NFL team. The feat was all the more remarkable because he had not played college football.

He went on to be voted Special Teams Captain by his teammates. Due to his charity work, he was named Eagles Man of the Year in 1978. By 1979, a shoulder injury ended his gridiron glory.

Business career

After retiring from the NFL, Papale worked in the mortgage banking industry and became a sports broadcaster. He also won a battle with colorectal cancer in 2001.

The Disney movie Invincible and Papale's first book, Invincible - My Journey From Fan to Team Captain were both released in 2006.

Invincible Kids

"Everyone has their invincible moment."

Today, he is a sought after speaker who has also initiated an 'Invincible Kids' program. This effort allows him to give voice to the spirit of children around the country who have overcome great odds and serve as inspirational role models.

Board of directors

Papale has recently been voted onto the Board of Directors, Charity Division, for the NFL Alumni Association.

"One of our initiatives is to help players who haven't been as fortunate as I have been."

New playbook

Consistency is one of the principals that Papale lives his life by. It is also something that he speaks about in his forthcoming book, Papale's Playbook: You Can Be Invincible In Tough Times...Analyze, Adapt and Achieve, which is due to be released later this year.

Never believe that people who achieve and maintain success do so by chance. Individuals like Vince Papale are smart and have consistently worked to have earned all that they have accomplished.

How we respond to the 'Invincible Moments' in our lives defines who we are and who we can become.

Details about Papale's life, as well as all of the positive efforts that he is involved in can be found on his website: vincepapale.com. Currently, he is also a spokesperson for stopcoloncancernow.com.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's Voices platform in 2011. Photo credit: APB)

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Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB

Philadelphia Flyers - Regular Playoff Contention Realistic and Lord Stanley's Hand

As this season ends for the Flyers...Fletcher, AV, a number of good core players, and young players, with others on the way, make the future a place where regular playoff contention is likely. With that, runs toward the Cup Final are possible, and the ever-elusive third-earned opportunity to shake Lord Stanley's silver hand exists.

No point in the past is exactly comparable to now. And so the off-season begins with play restarting prior to the end of the year.

Philadelphia Flyers Set To Battle New York Islanders - NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 2

Per the Flyers media relations department following the First Round series victory over the Habs...

 Philadelphia Flyers Postgame Notes

Friday, August 21, 2020

First Round, Game 6

Flyers 3, Montreal 2 at Scotiabank Arena

 

Game Summary: The Flyers scored twice in the first 5:23 of the game and were able to outdistance the Canadiens from that point to earn a 3-2 win and a 4-2 series victory in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ivan Provorov started the scoring 28 seconds into the game when his shot from the left point cut through traffic and beat Carey Price. Then just past the five-minute mark, Kevin Hayes picked up his first of the playoffs to make it a 2-0 advantage. Montreal got one back halfway through the period from Nick Suzuki on the power play, making it 2-1 at the end of the first period. The eventual game-winner came 4:26 into the second period when Travis Sanheim fired a shot from the point that hit Michael Raffl, then the post, then the back of Price’s leg and fell over the line. Suzuki restored the one-goal deficit just under two minutes later, but nothing else got by Carter Hart on the evening. He earned the win with 31 saves, while Price stopped 14 in the loss. Stars of the Game: 1 – Carter Hart; 2 – Nick Suzuki; 3 – Ivan Provorov.

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The New York Islanders are next up, with the Second Round series starting on Monday, August 24. The Isles play a style that's generally similar to the Canadiens. So, the Flyers will have another strong test as the organization strives for that ever-elusive third Stanley Cup in its storied history. Alain Vigneault (AV), his coaching staff, Hart, and team defense give this group a chance to advance. But it projects as another battle, with attrition a clear factor. 

Flyers 2020 Playoff Camp Roster Released

As part of the National Hockey League's return to play plan, the Philadelphia Flyers have released its 2020 Playoff Camp Roster. 

Here's hoping all goes well for everyone across the League in every camp and then in both hub cities, when the playoffs are scheduled to start next month. 

What If Babe Ruth Never Stopped Pitching?

Everyone knows George Herman Ruth. The "Bambino," the "Sultan of Swat," the "Babe" is the most famous slugger of all-time. Many baseball fans also know that Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of his career. Hardly an extra arm, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game before his batting efforts led to a full-time position in the field. So, let's consider what direction Ruth's career might have taken if he had never put his pitching glove away.

Suppose that...the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ruth was just an adequate hitter. In that scenario, he may very well have remained in the Red Sox's rotation. If he would have been traded to another team, it would have been to join their pitching staff and not to assume a spot in their lineup.

Early in his career, he pitched full-time for three seasons and for parts of three other seasons. Including some other New York Yankees years, where he started an occasional game, his overall record was 94-46. He threw 1,221 1/3 innings, allowed 974 hits, 441 walks, struck out 488 batters and had a 2.28 ERA.

His two best seasons were 1916, when he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and 1917, when he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA. He pitched over 300 innings in both of those years.

People can reference the "Dead Ball Era" all they want. Few were capable of doing what he did on the mound. There were better pitchers than Ruth. But many men who threw in his era weren't nearly as good as he was.

Hypothetically speaking....Ruth's career numbers project to an average record of approximately 20-10 over a 154-game season.

Ruth played from 1914 through 1935. So, over the course of 22 seasons would he have won over 400 games? Maybe not. But he seems likely to have won between 300-350 games. Those numbers would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame.

Would Ruth have been traded to the Yankees if he was a pitcher? Would that franchise have become a dynasty if he continued to dominate from the mound, rather than transform into a legendary home run hitter? Great questions that also can never be answered, but are challenging to at least consider.

Ruth's pitching numbers serve as further supporting evidence that he was clearly one of, if not, the greatest ballplayers to have ever lived.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's platform in 2011.)

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB

MLB and MLBPA Discussing 2020 Season - Baseball Cards Timeless Importance

Major League Baseball's current discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association about the proposed start of the 2020 season are beginning. My old baseball cards are once again in mind as a result...

St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols has hit over 400 home runs, but has never hit more than 49 in one season. Alex Rodriguez, who is in sixth place on the all-time home run list, was traded by the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees in 2004. In 2010, Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game and a playoff no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies.

All of the information shown above is easy to access through any baseball website, could be shown on a number of cable television sports programs, or heard on a variety of sports talk shows. But, back in the day, baseball fans learned that type of information through newspaper box scores, magazines and on the backs of baseball cards.

Finding your favorite players

My elementary school friends introduced me to baseball cards in the 1970's. During that pre-internet, pre-video game era, those thin, rectangular encyclopedias were our passion.

While complete sets could be ordered through Topps, it was so much more fun to buy packs at local convenience stores. Opening the wrapper, smelling those pink gum-scented cards and earnestly looking for our favorite players was thrilling.

Local card shows, which were similar to farmer's markets, offered another collection building option. A kid convention filled with a buffet of bubble gum cards. Instead of testing the tomatoes, you looked for that Tom Seaver who was sorely needed to complete the Cincinnati Reds team set.

Those events were nothing short of paradise.

Trading

The free market is a wonderful thing and we had no summer trade deadlines. Duplicates of a Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter and Thurman Munson could be just the incentive that was needed to obtain the Oakland Athletics' Reggie Jackson card my buddy finally was willing to deal in September.

If there were any disputes about the balance of a deal, Becket's Baseball Card Price Guide was used as a silent arbitrator. We didn't know who Beckett was, or how he determined the card values, but using his book made us feel like we were operating on the up and up.

Proper Storage

Like fine wine, all cards needed to be properly stored. Plastic cases, with individual slots for each team, had to be obtained through the use of accumulated allowance money. Price was no object, as $8 was well worth the investment.

From there, the bedroom closet served as the primary storage vault. As part of a mental fire drill, if the house ever went up in flames, I would grab the dog along with my baseball card boxes and head out the side door to safety. Let the homework burn.

Bygone days

Baseball cards are still available today in larger chain stores, in specialty hobby shops and at card shows. They also continue to hold a spot in the hearts of all who learned to love the game through them.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's Voices platform in 2011.)

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB, or through Facebook. 

Philadelphia Flyers: President and General Manager Chuck Fletcher's Update

*My best to all readers, their family members, friends, and colleagues during these challenging times.

The following update was provided to media members on the date of this post by the Philadelphia Flyers, due to the ongoing effects of the virus in North America and in the world. 

Philadelphia Flyers President/General Manager Chuck Fletcher

Since you don’t know how long this pause is going to be, do you have them treat this like it’s an off season or try to have everyone stay in shape? How does it go?

Well before I answer that question, I want to acknowledge the obvious that we’re in different times right now and want to certainly mention that our entire organization, and certainly my family and I, we want to thank all the people working on the front lines of this pandemic, the doctors, nurses, hospital workers, our first responders and everyone working hard to keep our essential services operating for the benefit of all of us. I certainly want to mention that before we start talking about the small piece of the world that I work in, which is ice hockey. With respect to our players, we haven’t given them any sort of specific direction. Most of them have returned to their off-season homes. A lot of them have the ability to work out there. I don’t think anybody is skating, obviously, at this point. I think guys are doing the best they can to stay in shape and they are all hopeful that in time we get to a better place in this world, where we’ll be able to come back and play hockey.

Chuck, does this help Nolan Patrick at all? Can you give us an update on him?

Nolan’s returned home. Generally speaking, he’s feeling well in terms of where he has been over the past few months. That’s hard to say what exactly it will mean when we do come back to play. He’s been trending in the right direction all along. I don’t know if that would have a positive or negative impact other than obviously, the benefit of time that he will have to continue to heal and get back.

Chuck, how have you been coordinating with the rest of your front office, from Brent to the rest of your scouts and make sure everyone is making use of their time?

I speak to Brent and Barry every day. We have a group text that we keep pretty active in terms of different things that each of us may be doing. Brent is working first and foremost with our scouting staff, our amateur scouts. They’re working hard on getting their lists for the draft, watching video, doing reports, having discussions on players and doing things that they would typically do at this time of the year with the obvious exception that we were are not able to watch games live right now. Barry is working on contracts and cap related issues going forward. Obviously, we’ve been able to sign a couple of our unsigned draft choices, Tanner Laczynski and Wade Allison recently. Barry’s been on the forefront of those conversations. We stay in touch every day and try to coordinate things that we do. Personally, I am trying to reach out to a lot of our support staff and scouts as well as people like Bob Clarke, Paul Holmgren, Bill Barber and Dave Scott to keep the lines of communication going. To speak to people on a regular basis and just to do what we can to stay busy.

You mentioned Laczynski and Allison. Do you see them battling for a job next year or do you think they need a year or two of seasoning in the AHL?

I don’t know if they need a year or two of seasoning. These are players that will be 23 years old next season. They both have put a lot of time in it at the collegiate level. They both have size and strength attributes that typically takes a 19 and 20 year old kids a lot longer to acquire. They’re men. They are good hockey players. I expect that they’ll challenge for spots right away. Whether they can make it, time will tell. They’re players that are very close to being able to step in and play.

With the spread of the virus, was there any fear that a player or a staff member was affected or exposed in any way?

I think all of us are concerned about everyone’s health and well-being and trying to take all the precautions we can. I am not aware of anybody that we had to take any particular precautions with, other than once we got back from Tampa Bay, everybody tried to heed the advice of the NHL and self-isolate and do what we can to keep ourselves and our families safe. Be smart members of the community and try to stay out of everyone’s way. Everyone’s doing the best they can to self-isolate and be home with their families.

Similar to the discussions with Brent and the scouting staff, how often do you check in with AV and his staff and kind of touch base with him to see what he’s working on with this time off?

He had been working on his golf swing for a while, but right now he’s like the rest of us, he’s going through notes and trying to stay safe. I speak to AV every week, just once a week. I’ve reached out to quite a few of the coaching staff, scouting staff and supporting staff and try to stay in regular contact with them, whether it’s by a phone call, text or email. We’re all trying to stay in touch and do what we can. Again, for obvious reasons, a lot of our business has been shut down right now. Most of the things we can focus on are matters going forward, whether that’s the draft or signing some of our players. Maybe planning some things for the future.

There are a lot of proposals floating around. Is there any one that you prefer that the season starts with the playoffs? Obviously it’s going to be later than normal. Is there any playoff format that you prefer?

Not really. We’re fine with anything that they put forward. To me, the more hockey the better. Whatever it ends up being, it ends up being. I’m not particularly led to anything. There’s a lot of ideas out there. A lot of creative solutions. It’s a good way to pass the time right now, but until things change and we have more information, it’s going to be hard to know what will happen.

Chuck, is it important to you that this season does get handed it out, even though it will be late? Is there some point where you just call it and get started again next season?

Well when you have time, use it. I just think there’s no sense in making any decisions until you have to make them. If we’re able to come back and play, that means the world is at a much better spot than it is right now. I think that would be a tremendous sign. Obviously, I hope we have that ability to finish up this year. A lot of work was put in and we got to the majority of the regular season. I think that we’re all competitors and we all want to play. Again, if we’re playing that means the situation is changed dramatically and we’re in a much better spot.

Can you give us injury updates on Myers, JVR and Nate? If the season does return in May, all three would be back?

Myers is doing well. Over three weeks now post injury, he’s doing very good. I believe he would have been cleared to play prior to the end of the regular season as originally scheduled. Thompson’s issues have resolved. He’s cleared to play. JVR’s finger is healing really well. He’s still needs a little time before that is fully healed, which is kind of what we expected when we announced the initial time frame, I believe of 4 to 6 weeks. It would have been somewhere either just as the playoffs started or with the first week of the playoffs. I think he’s still trending that way. Everybody’s doing well and feeling better. That’s all positive.

Can you give an update on Oskar Lindblom? Is he still in the area? Did he go back home?

No, Oskar’s still in the area, continuing treatments. He’s doing well.

Chuck, you mentioned earlier about Barry and contracts. You have a bunch of pending UFA’s and RFA’s. It’s a weird situation but have you opened negotiations with any of them? Since the cap is uncertain and the season starting back up is uncertain, do you look at that as on the back burner right now?

We haven’t started any negotiations with any of our RFA’s or UFA’s at this point. Part of it is there is a lot of uncertainty at this point. What the cap number will be and when things will start up. There is some uncertainty. Having said that, I think we have some RFA’s, in particular, that we have worked hard on the file for the negotiation. I think we’re certainly willing to have conversations with some of those players. The younger players that we will need to sign under any circumstance. I think if we can get ahead on some of those situations, we’ll look at it. I think there are some situations where we’ll wait to see the lay of the land before we can get too involved. We’ll try to use some of this time to our advantage. Certainly, whether we start the negotiations or just prepare for them, typically this time of year is when you start building your files for the summer negotiations, this year isn’t any different.

Has there been a lot of discussion with the governors about new dates, when arbitrations will be filed and free agency periods will be shifted to?

No, we just don’t know right now. I think the league has a long list of items, critical date issues and issues relating to all the things you mentioned in addition to formats and all that stuff that will have to be resolved once we have more information.

Chuck, how concerned are you about revenues’ being down and how that might affect the salary cap?

Look, we all read what’s going on in the world. I think our industry is no different from any other industry. I think there’s going to be challenges for everybody as we move forward here. Again, at the end of day, there will be host of issues that the league will have to sit down and come to conclusion on and figure out what makes sense for the industry to move forward. Until we have more concrete answers, it’s just hard to speculate on the types of things that we need to be worried about.

You mentioned Laczynski and Allison being signed. Does it look like any of the other college prospects, Kalynuk and Cates specifically, are looking to sign and turn pro?

I think Wyatt Kalynuk and his family are looking at all his options and deciding what they want to do and what Wyatt wants to do moving forward. Again, there’s really no urgency right now with the pause in the NHL season and the NCAA schedule being cancelled. I think he’s taking the time that he has to think through what he wants to do, which is his right. I believe that Noah Cates will return to school next year. Cam York is going to return to school. Bobby Brink will return to school. As they should, I think that’s the best route for all three of those kids.

Chuck, your team was arguably the hottest in the league when the season came to a stop. What have you like about what you have seen either during the winning streak or since January?

Well, I think all season we’ve been showing a high level of resiliency. I think it took us time to get everybody on the same page and to get playing our best hockey, which I think was predictable with the number of changes we made last off-season. I think as the season progressed, we all got on the same page from a system standpoint. Our culture grew and the expectations of the group increased. I think we’ve become a pretty good hockey team. I think what I like is the buy-in, everybody is accepting of their role and try to do what they need to do to help the hockey team win, whether it’s Claude Giroux or Joel Farabee. It runs the gambit from our most experienced guys to our rookies. Everybody’s accepting of the role and doing what is asked of them and doing with a smile on his face. I think that’s why this group is so close and we were having the success that we were having at the end of the year.

Obviously, Kevin Hayes is one of the guys that you brought in over the summer because you needed a second line center. His impact is as much off the ice as it is on the ice. The viral videos of him during walkouts before the games. Did you have any idea that he had the much personality and can bring that much impact in the locker room and off the ice as well as on the ice?

Yeah, he’s a beauty. I think we all knew he had a strong personality, but you are right. He’s had a very positive impact on our franchise. He’s played very well. He plays a very important role on our team in that second line center spot as well as power play, penalty kill, even strength, 3 on 3 and even shootouts. He’s had an impact in every area that a player can have an impact in. He’s a good teammate. He’s a really good human being. He cares about winning. He cares about the people in the organization. He cares about the fans.  You can’t make that stuff up. His personality is who he is. He’s a real fine human being.

How has the communication been like with players? How frequently have you been in touch with them? Or do you rely on Claude Giroux, like one player to relay information?

I’ve spoken to JVR a few times. He’s our player rep. They have regular calls with the NHLPA. Just making sure everyone is safe and their families are safe and if there is anything they need from us to get through this time and stage where we are all at. We want to help out any way we can. Obviously we have some injured players that we have been trying to get healthy and make sure they are in a good spot. Jimmy McCrossin has been working very hard at keeping in touch with the players that were banged up. Right now, it’s about doing what we can to make sure players are in good spot. Again, as things resolved itself and things get to a different stage and we can start talking about playing hockey again in a more realistic manner, communication will ramp up.

Chuck, have you found yourself having more or less conversations with other GMs now that the league is paused?

Fewer. We have a lot of texts going. Some group chats going. We’re communicating a lot, much more informal. I do reach out and speak to about 4 or 5 managers every week. It’s only been a couple weeks so I certainly haven’t spoken to everybody in the league. Again, trying to stay in touch and see how people are doing. Get ideas for maybe some things that are going. Checking in to see if they are signing anybody. Just things like that. At this stage, it hasn’t been a real big factor on what I am doing on day to day basis.

If and when you get a green light to start again at some point, do you think a couple weeks of a camp would be enough to get these players at least close to playing shape?

Guys take care of themselves. We have had other instances where we have had work stoppages and we’ve had shorter training camps to get ready for the season. Players have been able to manage it. These guys are tremendous athletes and they take care of themselves. I don’t know what the exact number would be. Certainly two weeks, in my opinion, would be sufficient to get guys up to speed. Obviously you have normal conditioning and you have game conditioning that may take a little time for guys to get to be where they were when the pause happened. Again, these guys are great athletes and I think that could be sufficient.