The Danbury Hat Tricks will interview either a player or staff member each week of the season as part of the new Weekly Spotlight series. First up, broadcaster Jake Baskin sat down with first-year forward Josh Erickson of Bradenton, Florida.
DANBURY HAT TRICKS: We’re here with Josh Erickson. This is your first year with the Hat Tricks.
Josh Erickson: Yeah, I just graduated high school last year at Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts. This is my first year of juniors and in Danbury.
DHT: Where are you from? Where did you start playing hockey?
JE: I live in Florida now, moved there two years ago from California. I started playing hockey there for the Jr. Sharks, a couple AA teams growing up. And in high school, I played a little bit at Shattuck in Minnesota, and then back at Lawrence Academy and now here.
DHT: What led you to start playing hockey?
JE: To be honest, my family had no idea of anything about hockey, but one day my dad went to a San Jose Sharks game and fell in love and bought season tickets before I was even born. I went to my first hockey game when I was two months old. My dad was a season-ticket holder for almost 20 years. Watching the sport made me want to try it out, and I’ve loved it ever since.
DHT: Describe your play style for the fans.
JE: I’d like to call myself a grinder with a little bit of skill, like I’ll be a guy that forechecks hard, won’t be scared to get in the corners and fight for the puck. I’m getting a lot better with faceoffs. I play either center or wing, wherever Coach wants me.
DHT: Who’s your favorite player? Who do you model your game after?
JE: Over the years, I’ve been really watching Tyler Bertuzzi, who was on the Bruins last year and is on the Leafs this year. He grinds his butt off, works hard in the corners, hard on the forecheck, but he’s also a skilled player. I really like his play, I’ve been watching him for a couple years now.
DHT: What other sports did you play growing up? What are your interests outside of hockey?
JE: I played golf growing up, was on the swim team when I was younger. I played lacrosse in high school as well. I stopped golf for a while, but now I’m picking it up again. I do that a lot with the boys whenever I can. I love fishing, my billet family lives on a lake so I can do that. It’s a lot of fun.
DHT: What has your experience in Danbury been like so far?
JE: I love it. It’s a new team, I think this year we have a lot of kids who want to do well. We’ve shown in a couple games that we’re an up and coming team. My billet family’s been great. The boys have been great to me, [equipment manager] J.P. [Cuccia] as well. It’s a great first junior experience.
DHT: What is something that you want people to know about you?
JE: I’d say I’m an outgoing guy. Looking at me, I may seem like a scary guy, but if you come up to me and say what’s up, I’ll be happy to talk to you.
DHT: What are your goals in hockey, in the short term and long term?
JE: Long-term is to play Division I and maybe pro somewhere. Short-term, I’m just hoping to have a good year and hopefully be a leader on the team and a valuable player this year and next year.