Sarah: Where do you call home?
Paul: I am from Roseau, Minnesota, which is about eight miles from the Canadian border, straight north of Minneapolis about seven hours or so. A lot of people say I sound like a Canadian, but I am not. I am actually from Minnesota.
Sarah: Can you tell me about your life growing up there?
Paul: Well, I have lived in Roseau my whole life. My mother and father are both farmers. My mother is also a substitute teacher. I started skating when I was about two years old. My dad played hockey until he was about 35. He got me started early. I played youth hockey all the way through in Roseau, and then I played high school in Roseau for three years. The last year, my senior year of high school, I played before and after the season in Billings, Montana in the AWHL. I guess I have always called Roseau home, and I’ve always worked for my dad. I’ve never worked for anybody else; so coming down here and working for someone else has been a new experience.
Sarah: Do you enjoy it?
Paul: Yeah, I do enjoy it. I like Des Moines a lot. The people are real nice. People are nice in general but then they get to know you’re a Buc and I think it’s a little something special here, you know. I think they do take care of the Bucs pretty well, especially the people at work. They’re great about it. If I’ve got to go on the road, they’re fine with that, letting me take off work and stuff. It has been a fun part of the experience.
Sarah: Do you want to talk about your family? I know you did a little bit already.
Paul: Well, I have got a mom and dad, and I’ve got three sisters all older than me. I didn’t have anybody to beat me up or anything when I was little!
Sarah: Your sisters didn’t beat you up?
Paul: No. My dad played college hockey at North Dakota. My mom was a cheerleader at North Dakota. My dad went on to play hockey in Dallas a little bit and Kansas City. Once again, he is a farmer so I’ve worked with him and my grandpa my whole life, which is kind of special.
Sarah: I always beat my brother up when I was younger. He is younger than me. I can’t do it anymore because he would beat me up! So obviously you started playing hockey because of your dad.
Paul: Yeah. And in Roseau everybody plays hockey, you know. Basketball is kind of picking up a little bit, but hockey is the dominant sport in Northern Minnesota. Pretty much everybody plays hockey though. In a lot of the towns the kids played basketball too. I don’t want my basketball player friends to read this! It has been said before that everybody starts out playing hockey and whoever can’t play hockey plays basketball. I don’t want to make anybody mad!
Sarah: How did you end up playing for the Bucs?
Paul: Well, last year Fargo, which is also in the USHL, was talking to me and I didn’t think that was the right place for me to play so they had drafted me in the USHL draft. I just didn’t think that was the right place for me to play and they kind of demanded that I played there. I held out at Fargo and I kind of gambled a little bit. If Fargo didn’t work out, I was going to go back out to Billings. If a trade didn’t work out, I was going to go back out to Billings. So I had a little back up, you know, and I came down and skated in the Buccaneers camp. They traded for me for Fargo, so I was pretty happy about that.
Sarah: Why don’t you talk a little about Billings. When we went out there for national championships, it seemed like everybody there treated their players well.
Paul: Yeah, Billings is a great place to play too. It is a first class organization, just like the Bucs. The coach is great. It is the same atmosphere as it is here in Des Moines. Everybody loves them. I guess it is not a bad place to play; I just think they’re in the wrong league. There are a lot of talented players in that league, but I guess from top to bottom it is not quite as good as the USHL but it is a good league.
Sarah: What are your future plans at this point?
Paul: Right now I am like every other kid in the USHL and hoping to earn a college scholarship. I have one more year of juniors left. If nothing works out this year, I will come back next year and play another year. If nothing happens after next year, I will just go to college and do stuff like that.
Sarah: Is there anything you would like to do or achieve? It doesn’t have to be about hockey.
Paul: I am going to get a four year education, no matter if it is playing hockey or going to school for fun. I think that is kind of my goal is to get through college, either playing or on my own.
Sarah: What would you say is the best thing about being a Buc?
Paul: Well, I don’t know. Top to bottom it is one of the best organizations in the league. I think it is one of the best sports organizations in the United States. They treat us excellent on the road. They treat us excellent even at home. The place is sold out and they cheer for you. Win or lose, they are still your fans. I think that is something special about Des Moines and the Bucs.
Sarah: Do you have any game day superstitions?
Paul: No, I am not a real superstitious person. I just come to the rink and play the game.
Sarah: Is there a reason that you’re not?
Paul: No, I don’t know. I never have had a lot of superstitions. I don’t put my equipment on a certain way. I’ve put my equipment on the same way since I was little, just because I have, not because of superstition.
Sarah: Do you have any hobbies?
Paul: I love to fish and hunt and stuff like that. I like to be outside. That’s huge up in Northern Minnesota. I missed deer hunting this year and duck and goose hunting for the first time since I was little. I guess that is something special up there. When deer hunting comes around, it is a nine-day season and the whole town just goes wild about deer hunting. All the men go to the grocery store and fill up and head to deer camp, and they’re gone for eight days. That is kind of something special.
Sarah: Is there anything you would like to tell the fans?
Paul: Not that I know of.
Sarah: One last thing. Do you have an embarrassing moment that you can tell us about? It doesn’t have to be hockey related.
Paul: An embarrassing moment?
Sarah: Or a funny story.
Paul: A funny story? I guess last year when we won the state high school championship, when we were celebrating I got a little crazy and threw my stick and it went into the stands and hit somebody. They threw it back on the ice. That was nice of them.
Sarah: Thank you.
