Status: New York Rangers defenseman.
HT: 6-2 WT: 212
DOB: June 22, 1977 In: Lloydminster, Sask.
Hockey Inspirations: “I’m from Lloydminster, Sask., which is about two hours from Edmonton and I grew up watching the Oilers – Gretzky, Messier and all those guys. I was a huge fan.”
First Hockey Memory: “When, I think as a five-year-old, the game went into overtime and they pulled the goalie so the kids would have to skate over the blueline to shoot it in. I stumbled over the blueline and barely got it over the goal line – it was like my first goal in overtime. I can still kind of clearly see the puck going in. I don’t know why it’s so vivid, still to this day. It’s funny the things you remember.”
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I enjoy golfing in the summer. Summer’s a great time to get away from the ice. I have a boat. Enjoy some water sports; wake boarding.
Nicknames: “Reds, Redsy, Red Dog.”
Favorite Movies: “Actually a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and his movies like Blood Diamond and The Departed. Looking forward to seeing Body Of Lies – it’s just coming out. A lot of his movi es are mystery, drama – great acting.”
Last Book Read: “I’m in the process of reading a story about Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden. It’s kind of history mixed in with fiction, so it’s actually really good reading.”
Favorite TV Show: “Seinfeld.”
Musical Tastes: “The classic stuff. You hear a lot of Rolling Stones in the dressing room. I think that’s because Scotty Gomez is such a huge fan. I like them. Guns and Roses; Pearl Jam. I also like to mix the country in, too – Garth Brooks is an old favorite from way back. Tim McGraw.”
First Job: “Well, I grew up on a farm. My dad farmed, I always worked there. One of our neighbors had a seed farm. He’d have to go pick the weeds in his crops, because he couldn’t have any weeds in his greens. So we’d get roped into doing that every year. Me and my brother would get the call from the guy – such a nice lil’ guy. He’d take us for pizza all the time for lunch. And we didn’t have the heart to say no to him even though it was kind of a crappy job.”
First Car: “I bought a Chevy pick-up truck, step-side, four-by-four (green). I was pretty pleased with that vehicle.”
Current Car: “Just got a Lexus, the hybrid SUV (dark gray).”
Favorite Website: “Probably YouTube. I like going on there and checking out whatever. I just surf around and find some funny stuf f to watch – Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live skits, old hockey films, stuff like that.”
Pre-Game Feeling: “Just try to focus. Usually have a few thoughts in my head – what I want to do on the ice. Kind of run through that, go over that list and remind myself what I want to do out there. Then just get excited and get ready to go.”
Favorite Meal: “Hard to say. Italian food probably – so many good Italian restaurants in New York. Chicken parm, good pastas; such fresh food – good and tasty, rich.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I’d say chocolate.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Other than the first game, first goal – I actually scored my first goal in my first game (in Montreal in ’96). We had some big moments in Ottawa – we went to the final one year. I think winning the Eastern Conference in overtime – it’s always such a good feeling to win in overtime. Daniel Alfredsson scored in Game 5 to put us in the final. That was a great moment.”
Most Painful Moment: “Losing in the semifinal to Jersey – they scored a late goal in Game 7 to beat us. That was a tough one.”
Closest Hockey Friends: “My old teammates in Ottawa – Alfredsson and Phillips. Scotty Hartnell, too, is a guy from my hometown Lloydminster – he plays in Philadelphia. I keep in touch with him a little bit, too.”
Funnie st Players Encountered: “Andre Roy. He was in Ottawa for quite a while and I got to be buddies with him. Just a clown all the time and keeps everyone laughing.”
Toughest Competitors: “That’s hard to say. I played a lot against Gary Roberts in Toronto when he was there. He always seemed to do so well against us. He’s just a hard-working guy and fearless.”
Funny Hockey Memory: “A few times it happened – when we’re getting ready for the national anthem and the girl comes out on the ice. There were three of them one time in Nashville and they all wiped right out on the mat. Or – I hate to bring this up – but we were in Quebec City; we had to play the U.S. team before the ’05 World Championship. The girl came out to the ice to sing the American anthem and she lost the tune and forgot the words. Then she went off and came back to try again and slipped and fell on the ice – it’s been on every highlight reel. That’s one of the funnier moments I’ve witnessed.”
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “In a charity game in Alberta, during the lockout. After we scored a goal they give you a prize and you throw it in the stands. I got a basketball and I went to kick it in the stands. I didn’t even get it over the glass and I wiped out – went flying onto the ice.”
Last Vacation: “It was actually my honeymoon. I got married this summer. It was later in the su mmer, so we took a little trip to Vegas – spent four days there, had a great time.”
Most Memorable Goal: “My first year, maybe go back to then. We were in a playoff race and second-to-last game of the year we were in Detroit. I got the winning goal with less than a minute left. Then we ended up winning our next game at home, the next night, to advance to the playoffs.”
Strangest Game: “I remember one time in Ottawa the power went out right before the game. And we were sitting there for like an hour-and-a-half after warmup. All the power went off in the whole building. We were sitting around, not knowing if we were going to play – just had the emergency lights on. Then they finally got the power going – we started about 9 p.m. That was a little odd.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Just down to earth, good people who like to laugh and have a good time. Just people like that; good-hearted and not rude. Not too cocky, but I don’t mind a little cocky – it’s kind of funny.”
Mark “Scoop” Malinowski’s first book “Heavyweight Armageddon: The Lewis-Tyson Championship Battle” was called “A smashing success, one of the two best boxing books I ever read,” by Emanuel Steward. It is available at amazon.com.