With the Rangers on an extended break, 28-year-old winger Barclay Goodrow, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning, took a little Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby:
Q: Back in 2009, you said: “I don’t want to be a big guy who is soft.”
A: I still feel that way. I think in hockey, if you’re not scoring goals, if you’re not putting up a ton of points, you need to find other ways where you can be effective within the game. And I think if you’re a big guy, you have to use that to your advantage. You need to be physical, you can’t back down from anyone. That goes along with being a team player and just doing the things that you need to do, especially if you’re a bigger guy, you can’t back down.
Q: Do you consider yourself an enforcer?
A: I wouldn’t consider myself an enforcer, but if something happens, I’ll stick up for a teammate. Or if there’s a time of game where you need to get the team going, there’s certain opportunities where I have fought, and it’s part of the game. It’s one thing that makes hockey so unique (chuckle), you can drop your gloves and you can literally fight someone on the ice where in other sports that’s not allowed. Hockey, it is, and it’s a big part of the game.
Q: What is it about the physicality that you like?
A: From the age of 8 or 9, when you learned how to bodycheck, it’s kinda something I’ve always done, especially being a bigger kid, especially back then, it was something I could use to my advantage, and it’s something I’ve always done.
Q: What impresses you most about Artemi Panarin?
A: You can never appreciate a guy until you see them every day and see the work they put in, see the stuff they do on a consistent basis. And for Panarin, his vision on the ice, it’s amazing, the passes he makes, the plays he sees well ahead of anyone else seeing them. His vision, his love for the game, it’s fun to watch.
Q: Chris Kreider?
A: He’s the best net-front guy in the league. For a guy that’s been around for a long time now, his speed is so effective. The chemistry him and Mika (Zibanejad) have together is very good. Kreids is a great leader, he’s a great role model for a lot of these young guys, and someone who’s very enjoyable to be around each and every day.
Q: Igor Shesterkin?
A: Unbelievable … he’s a rock back there. He’s an amazing goalie that puts in a lot of time. It’s nice having him on our team.
Q: Coach (Gerard) Gallant?
A: Old-school guy. He knows what buttons to push within a game, he knows who’s going, who’s not going on that particular night. Honest, fair coach that will reward you if you’re playing well. He’s a great guy to play for.
Q: Rangers fans?
A: They’re tough (chuckle). They’re everything I was told about before coming here, they love a winner. I think they love the blue-collar, working mentality, they’ll cheer just as loud for a hard hit, a fight, as they will a goal. They’ve been wanting a winning team here for a while now. I think we have the group that can give them what they want.
Q: How much do you like playing under the big Broadway lights?
A: I love it. Coming from two relatively smaller markets [Tampa Bay and San Jose], there’s nothing like playing at the Garden. As a visiting team, that’s one rink where your schedule comes out each year, you’re looking to see when you’re playing New York, when you’re at the Garden, so being able to play there every home game under the bright lights, Broadway, it’s what being in the NFL’s all about. It’s what you dream of.
Q: Do you like the penalty kill?
A: I love penalty kill. Obviously there’s some guys who score goals, who are on the power play and also the penalty kill, but for other guys, that’s your moment to produce even if it’s not on the score sheet, but you’re helping the team win, you’re getting dirty, you’re blocking shots, you’re winning faceoffs. It’s a pivotal aspect of any successful team, so it’s something I’ve always taken a lot of pride in and kinda being relied on in those defensive series.
Q: What drove you and what drives you now?
A: The feeling of lifting the Cup (2020 and 2021) is something that did drive me before I won it, and now I feel like it drives me even more to relive that feeling, and to see your teammates and coaches live through that feeling, a dream that everyone has had since they started playing hockey. … It’s a very rewarding feeling.
Q: Describe that feeling of skating around the ice holding the Cup over your head.
A: It’s crazy. … You feel like there’s not many times where you dream of something your whole life and then it kind of becomes a reality. It’s a lot of feelings going through your brain, it’s tough to put it into one, but it’s kinda everything you thought it would be and more.
Q: How did the second time (with the Lightning) compare with the first time?
A: Very different, very different. The first time, there were no fans in the building, so the celebration was more just amongst the team and the guys who we had been around for that whole bubble experience. It was great, and then the second time to be able to lift and share with all the fans and family and friends that are also there. It’s two very awesome experiences, and both were amazing.
Q: What did you learn about what it takes as a team to become Stanley Cup champions?
A: That everyone needs to be on the same page. I think everyone needs to be pulling the rope in the same direction. If there’s guys that are concerned about their individual success or just not putting the team first, it affects everyone.
Q: Bringing the Cup back to your hometown of Aurora (Ontario)?
A: It was great. It was something that we weren’t able to do the first time around. It’s almost like we had to make the one day … The two years had the impact on the one day. It was a lot of fun seeing kids, seeing kids from the minor hockey association that I played, the joy on their face … it’s something special. The best part of the day was being able to bring it to the hospital, see some kids who are kinda fighting for their lives, and just being able to provide joy for them for 10, 20 minutes.
Q: What do you like best about this Rangers team?
A: I feel like there’s many things to love. … Going through the process when I knew I wasn’t returning to Tampa, looking at some of the teams that were interested, looking at the lineups, the city, the ability to win maybe not just now, but for years to come, I think New York just checked all those boxes. It’s such a young group with a few veterans sprinkled amongst the lineup, but I think just the camaraderie and how close the team is, everyone wants success for the other person, everyone wants to win. … I think you can see that on the ice with how we’ve performed this year. We’re doing a lot better than maybe what people would have thought heading into the season. I still think we have a lot better hockey that we can play.
Q: Does the collective mindset of the group remind you of your champion Lightning teams?
A: I think so. Obviously the team’s different, there’s a lot of guys in Tampa who have played a ton of games, been around the league a long time. … But I think the desire to get there is evident amongst everyone.
Q: Describe your journey to this point after going undrafted three times.
A: There’s been a lot of ups and downs I would say. … Coming into the OHL, I was a first-round pick … was one of the better players throughout minor hockey. My junior career I got better every year. There’s a lot of things in my game that I had to work on in order to get better — I think my skating was the biggest aspect of that. … I grind every summer to get that to the point where I was able to keep up, and at one point I was able to use speed to my advantage. Then not getting drafted, it was togugh, but I like to think that everything happens for a reason. It was pretty tough sitting there in the building throughout the whole thing, then not hearing your name called. But I think [that] kinda motivated me to keep working on my game every summer. Maybe if I had gotten picked in one of the later rounds, I maybe wouldn’t have been as hungry to keep on getting better and prove myself each and every year.
Q: There was a point when your confidence had been shaken?
A: There’s been a few times where I’ve had to kinda look myself in the mirror, and it was either I kinda just lay down or find a way to get better and grind to get to the point where I could prove a lot of people wrong.
Q: Your demotion to the fourth line with the Barracuda (San Jose’s AHL affliate)?
A: After my last year of junior, went to the Sharks and end up making the team my first-year pro. … Maybe at that point, got a little too comfortable heading into my second year kinda just thinking that, “OK, I’ve already been here a year, maybe I don’t need to prove myself as much” or got complacent with where I was at … end up playing 12ish games to start the season, got sent down to the Barracuda, and at that point I had no confidence — my game was just in shambles, I couldn’t make a play. … I was kinda lost on the ice.
Q: How did you get out of that hole?
A: It was kinda the same thing as not getting drafted. It’s a look-in-the-mirror moment, and you can either go one or two ways — you can just accept that, and keep on going the same way I had been going, which wasn’t a route that I wanted to go, I wanted to be back in the NHL. I wanted to at least be a productive player in the American League and help my team. That was a big turning point, I would say the second-biggest turning point of my career. I went on a tear after that … Those two years were crucial in my development. The ability to figure out how to play at the pro level, even though I’d been in the NHL my first year, I think at that point I was just trying to survive and trying to not screw up on the ice rather than thinking to make the right play. My whole mindset i don’t think was where it needed to be.
Q: What are you most proud of about what you’ve accomplished in spite of all the adversity?
A: I would say just never giving up. There were many points even throughout my last year in junior, if you don’t make it pro, there’s a scholarship package that the Ontario Hockey League offers, and so come December, January, I was getting these packages for university, I was, “OK, I guess the dream’s kinda over, I guess I’ll go to school, get a degree and play hockey there” and go on from there.” I’d say probably not giving up through those times … just finding a way to improve myself, or finding little areas within the game that I could be effective and prove my worth to a team.
Q: The overtime goal you scored against Vegas (in 2019) to win a playoff series.
A: It was unbelievable (chuckle). That was for me personally a rollercoaster of a game. I think I was minus 3 going into overtime. … I didn’t play for the first maybe 15 minutes of overtime. Guys are getting exhausted, the pace is still very high. (Sharks coach) Peter DeBoer threw me out for a shift, I think it was my second shift of overtime where we end up scoring. It was absolutely electric. You kinda dream of scoring a Game 7 overtime winner in the playoffs. My dad had flown in for that game so he was able to witness it.
Q: Your on-ice mentality?
A: Do whatever it takes for the team to win. I’ve always been a team-first kinda guy. I love winning, so whatever needs to be done personally for myself to contribute to that, I’m all for it.
Q: You’re on a breakaway against any goaltender in NHL history?
A: Probably Dominik Hasek.
Q: You can pick the brain of any player in NHL history?
A: Wayne Gretzky.
Q: What would you ask him?
A: Just how he was able to see plays develop so far before they happened or what his mindset was going to games or his preparation or just how he became so dominant.
Q: Boyhood idol?
A: Mats Sundin.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Jay-Z; Elon Musk; Wayne Gretzky.
Q: If Elon Musk asked you to go into space, what would you tell him?
A: I would need to see some more trials first before I’m hopping on that plane.
Q: Why him as a dinner guest?
A: I think just the innovation, desire to think outside the box and to create a new normal kind of, I find very interesting. He’s someone that doesn’t really care what other people think, and will just do what he can to kinda make the world a better place.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Wolf of Wall Street.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Leonardo DiCaprio.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Sandra Bullock.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: Drake.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Steak and potatoes.
Q: You were married in September?
A: With our schedule, with our constantly on the move, you need to have a rock at home that’s gonna pretty much manage all aspects of your life when you’re not around. She’s very supportive of me … she’s amazing.
Q: Has your confidence as a player ever been higher than it is now?
A: I don’t think so. I would say when I first got traded to Tampa, when they made the investment in trading a first-round pick for me, that was a pretty cool feeling. And then when a team then comes and gives you a six-year contract, it for sure helps your confidence a lot in solidifying that you’re an effective player who deserves to be here, who they count on you to be a leader. I would say my confidence is in a good spot. I don’t think you can stop working on your game or stop getting better. That’s something I’ve never taken for granted just because I know throughout my journey that it can always be taken away from you.