In his second year as a Badger, sophomore center Derek Stepan has become one of the team's top players. The Minnesota-native was second on the team in points last year and has become a fixture on this year's top power-play unit, garnering six goals and 25 assists.
He was on the ice for the Badgers' game-tying and -winning goals Saturday night in the Camp Randall Hockey classic and over winter break played for a U.S. team that beat Canada for the World Junior Hockey Championship.
After practice yesterday he talked to The Daily Cardinal about a few of those accomplishments and his time as a Badger. The edited transcript follows:
Daily Cardinal: What did it feel like being on the ice during those two goals and that whole stretch?
Derek Stepan: Our power play kind of stepped up big when we needed them to. In the past we've been struggling so it was a good feeling for our power play and it was a good feeling for our team to get the ball rolling a little bit. And then to get the game-winning goal as well, it was a special feeling.
DC: Was there a sense that you could sort of step back and sort of think, I'm in front of all these people, just what a moment it was?
DS: Absolutely. It was a great atmosphere all night long. And it was cool to be outdoors, kind of brought you back to your kid time. The whole entire experience was awesome.
DC: You get to sit in [Athletic Director] Barry Alvarez's chair for a day, how often do you do an outdoor game?
DS: I think if you're going to do it once a year, just do that. Because you still want to have that special feeling of being able to go play outdoors. I kind of like having that once-and-a-while type mentality, but once a year wouldn't be bad, maybe every other year. So something like that, keeps that special feeling of playing in an outdoor game.
DC: After your strong freshman year, head coach Mike Eaves compared you to former UW all-American and current San Jose Shark Joe Pavelski. Going into that offseason what was the one thing you wanted to get better at for this year?
DS: I had to get stronger and I had to really start working with [strength and conditioning coach] Jim Snider, and me and Jim Snider, we've done a heck of a job so far, but I've got a long ways to go. But that was the one thing this summer that I really needed to improve on and I felt very good about my summer. Last summer I got a lot stronger but I need to continue to get stronger.
DC: You had the Pavelski comparison, people talked about it for a little bit. Do you see it as apt?
DS: Any time you can be thrown in the same sentence with a guy like Joe Pavelski you've got to be completely honored, just try to do the best you can to fill his shoes, and they're a very big pair of shoes to fill. So I'm just trying to do my best, to do what I can, to be as much as I can like Joe.
DC: Which was the better, more exciting moment: getting drafted or winning the World Juniors the way you did?
DS: Oh that's a really tough question ... getting drafted is a really special feeling and it's one of those things where you still got to continue to work to get where you want to get, but it's a good step. And then to win that World Junior tournament with the group of guys that I won it with. We had a blast the whole seven games, the whole tournament, and to win it in OT against Canada.
I can't really push towards one right now, I'd have to say that I'm going to have to go with the World Junior one just because it was so recent and the getting drafted part, that's just kind of a stepping stone ... I'd say that the World Junior Championship might win it. It's close though, very close.
DC: When people think of hockey players, superstitions are something that comes to mind. What are your superstitions?
DS: Oh I have a lot of them ... [There is] a certain golf ball that I stick-handle with before a game. I jump rope maybe, pregame routines, taping twigs, doing it a certain way every game, under gear. I've got a lot of them, I've got a ton, a list. I eat a bowl of cereal, I eat Cocoa Pebbles before the game, all that stuff.
DC: Any one of the guys poke fun at you for it?
DS: Yeah, Jake [Gardiner], my roommate, gives me a pretty hard time about it. Jordy [Murray] doesn't really. Matt Thurber's my other roommate, he'll give me a hard time about it. A couple guys in the locker room will, but there's a lot of guys that have superstitions on the team.
