He may not be a household
name just yet, but San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Irwin may work his way into
your mental NHL player directory yet. Now in his second NHL season, the 26 year
old British Columbian is continuing a trend from his amateur career that has
seen his point totals, ice-time, and contributions to his team’s success
dynamically increase every year.
Irwin spoke with me at
length about his long road to the NHL and what he’ll have to do to stay there,
the tough decisions he was required to make and small window of opportunity he
had to live out his dream, past teammates that helped get him where he is now,
current ones that help make him better, what the San Jose Sharks will have to
do to win their first Stanley Cup, what it takes to be consistently inserted
into a lineup full of Olympians, All-Stars, and Stanley Cup champions, and
more.
Click here to read the written version of this interview on The Score's Backhand Shelf.
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