Top 5 Interviews in the W.H.L

It's likely more of a debate among radio geeks than fans of the Western Hockey League, but every now and then I will be asked by someone - who are some of the best players/coaches I've interviewed while being a broadcasters in the W.H.L.
I've had the pleasure of talking to Sidney Crosby, Kevin Lowe, Doug McLean, Todd Bertuzzi, Shane Doan and even a guy named Gretzky, but I thought I'd give you my top 5 Western Hockey League interviews over the past 12 years.

#5 Kevin Constantine:

Often times broadcasters will talk to the opposing coach as a means of killing time. It's usually soft ball type of questions which provide meaningless answers.

Kevin Constantine is the exception to the rule.

When I first spoke to the former NHL coach in the fall of 2003, I was pleasantly surprised by his answers.

Not one for small talk prior to the start of an interview, Constantine was as smart as a whip when the interview began, and would give you tremendous insight into what he was thinking in any particular situation, while explaining his philosophy on the game of hockey.

You often have to wait, and wait, and wait for Kevin to appear outside the Everett Silvertips dressing room, but his answers are never the same and he's well worth the wait.
Constantine gets my nod as best coach to interview, bar none.
If he had little to say I'd leave him alone.
But like a piece of chocolate cake at an all you can eat buffet, he's just to good to pass up.

#4 Erik Christenson:

The former Blazer won't win many medals at the Dale Carnagie course for public speaking, but man was he ever outspoken.

The first time I chatted with him was in 2002, when on most occasions teammate Scottie Upshall was flipping out on the ice, and Christenson was calling out his teammate on the air waves.

Being the opposing radio broadcaster has it's privileges, because often times players believe they can tell the truth without their team or teammates getting word of what was said.

But in this day and age of technology, what is often said, especially if it's a slam of a teammate, will often find it's way back to them somehow or someway.

Christenson was likely not a model teammate, and that may be part of the reason he was dealt to Brandon in his final year in the W.H.L.

But the outspoken forward is now playing in the National Hockey League, and with maturity comes wisdom, and I am sure at the pro level he has learned to mind his P's and Q's.

#3 Dean McAmmond:

Let me state first that McAmmond is the best skater I have ever seen up close in major junior hockey. Not even Sydney Crosby impressed me as much as McAmmond did when it came to skating.
Effortless, with huge powerful strides had McAmmond leaving opposing defenseman in the dust. McAmmond's acceleration was uncanny.
I admired him from afar when he made his mark with the Prince Albert Raiders before I got treated to seeing him every night when he was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos at the trade deadline in 1993.
McAmmond would play just 18 games with the Broncos that season, but his 23 points during the Broncos run towards the playoffs, paled in comparison to when it really counted - the playoffs - where 'Deano' put up 16 goals and added 19 assists for 35 points in 17 playoff games on the way to a W.H.L title with Swift Current and a birth at the Memorial Cup.

When McAmmond came to the Broncos, he was often soft spoken in his interviews. When I say he was soft spoken, he was literally a quiet talker.


Yet what he said had so much substance, which was refreshing when fellow teammates like Todd Holt and Jason Krywulak struggled to generate a compete sentence.
God bless them, they were great players, but public speaking wasn't their forte.
McCammond was a joy to interview.





#2 Jeremy Jackson:

This black athlete made his WHL debut in the 2001 season with the Vancouver Giants, and his outgoing personality was overshadowed by his off-ice antics.
Regarded as one of the hottest hockey prospects in American, Jackson was a free spirit who loved rap music, and often times looked more like Allan Iverson with a wool hat on his head, than a hockey player.
Because of off-ice troubles he played with 6 different teams over 3 years in the late 90's, including Michigan State, a team he got kicked off of because he was late for practice.
He'd eventually land in the W.H.L with the Vancouver Giants in the teams expansion year, where he was busted for driving with a suspended license.
He was a different cat no doubt, and marched to his own drum.
Yet interviewing him about his passion for music, the game of hockey, and the possibility of earning a paycheck in the NHL had you liking this guy.

Mature beyond his years, Jackson was long winded in an interview, yet those words that he spoke showed how smart he really was.
Street smart yes - book smart too.
In fact he loved poetry and wrote rap songs in his spare time.
He was a class act when it came to an interview, and frankly that's all I cared about.
He'd get traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes after a fallout with Giants management, and while his attitude away from the rink could be questioned, his production on it was impeccable.
In his final year in the 'dub', Jackson scored 44 goals.
He was a straight shooter in interviews, and it was likely that approach that got him into trouble off the ice.
Easily my choice at #2 because he was opinionated, and didn't mind sharing his thoughts with others.
I love one quote he gave me when I asked him about his bad reputation. He said to me "Everywhere I've gone, people have been upset with me for being this way. So now, I say screw it. If the hockey world wants me to change I'll change. If that's what it takes to play hockey, I'll be less black."
What a quote.
What an interview!

#1 Rocky Thompson:

What a character.
Cocky, confident, courageous, charismatic and maybe a little crazy?
One of the toughest players to ever play in the Western Hockey League, when he was surprisingly dealt to the Swift Current Broncos in the late stages of the 1998 season, I thought then coach Todd McLellan was joking with me.
"Ya we made a trade with Medicine Hat for Rocky Thompson and Josh Green", McLellan would tell me with a slight smirk on his face.
What!
Two marquee players for Tyler Perry, Andrew Milne, Rob Sandrock and Kevin Mackie.
Wow!
To this day it's the most lopsided deal I have ever witnessed.
McLellan made the deal with then Tigers G.M Doug Mosher, who oddly enough left the Broncos organization a year earlier after being named the executive of the year in the W.H.L as the G.M with the Broncos.
Rocky was as entertaining infront of a microphone as he was on the ice. He also wasn't scared to fuel the fire, by bad mouthing an opponent, and literally trash talking the opposition on a pre-game interview.
He tell you on the air, who he was fighting that night and why.

Unlike other players, Rocky could back it up.
Politically correct, he was not!

Even speaking to Thompson years later as he was trying to establish himself as a NHL heavyweight, Rocky spoke openly about playing the role of a fighter, and the struggles he had with concussions because of far to many shots to the head.
I remember him telling me the strongest player he ever fought was Donald Brasher.
Rocky couldn't say enough about his strength as he'd simply grabbing hold of you, and then the jacket hammer punches were soon to follow.
I will always remembers his larger than life personality, a personality he seemed to come across perfectly across the radio during a pre or post game interview.

Rocky Thompson to this day is my #1!