Wes Walz
Wes Walz
Wesley Walzis a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and former assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. Wes currently works as a sports analyst on Fox Sports North for the Minnesota Wild Hockey Club. Walz volunteered as an assistant coach with the Raptors of East Ridge High School, Woodbury, Minnesota. There he coached his son, Kelvin, on the boys varsity ice hockey team and a few years later he coached his daughter, Jaedyn, on...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth15 May 1970
best goes guys ice nights normally player saying star takes talking
There have been many nights where Gabby is the one talking before warm-up to get the guys ready. If you get your star player saying that, when normally he never did, and he goes out on the ice and is your best player most nights, that's what it takes to be a leader.
backs bike dressing guys hard respect tries warrior works
Willie's a warrior for us. He's one of those guys when he talks, he backs up what he says. He works hard after practices. He'll be on the bike after a game. He tries to get better, and he has a lot of respect from guys in our dressing room.
coaching contracts dressing games guys last management obviously played playing remember room staff sure talked
We talked in our dressing room about the last 10 games of the year, making sure that we played the right way. Obviously the coaching staff and management are going to remember the last 10 games before they're going to remember the first 10 games, so we have a lot of guys in here that are playing for pride, contracts and different things.
almost few guys taking team
When you got a few guys out of the lineup, the other team has the puck. It's almost 60-40. When you got the puck, you're not going to be taking many penalties. Sometimes, it's now how many you take it's when you take them.
criticize dad frustrated granted guy hockey playing remember somebody telling time took work
I took so many things for granted as a young hockey player. From the time I was 20 to 24, I was the first guy to criticize somebody else if I wasn't playing well. I was lazy. That frustrated my dad a lot. I remember him telling me, if you put something into it, and work hard, you'll always get something out of it. You won't know when it's going to happen. It could be years down the road.
five four groin guys rhyme room time
There are four or five guys in the room all the time with groin injuries. There's no rhyme or reason.
forward game ground guys next talking win wins worry
We know we've got a lot of ground to make up. Guys talking about how many wins we need. We need one win (tonight). That's all we've got to look forward to, and then we'll worry about the next game when it comes.
fold good guys hard knock pack rivalry team
We want to knock these guys out of the playoffs. We have a good rivalry with this team and we're not going to fold up our tents and pack it up, we re going to play hard all the way through.
aware best creates guys league room
He's been the best defensemen in the league for 10 years. He just always makes the right play. When he's out there, guys like me have to be more aware of him when he has the puck, so that creates more room for the other guys.
coaching games guys last management playing remember season staff team
I know one thing. The coaching staff and management on our team will remember our last 10 games of the season more than they'll remember the first 10 games. There's some guys in here that are playing for their careers.
lost played
It was unfortunate that we lost because I thought we played really well.
good ice loose puck randy sees
Randy complements our line. He sees the ice really well. When the puck comes around the wall, he's got a good set of hands. He can get a lot of loose pucks out to Gabby.
far feels playoffs sliding
It feels like it's sliding away as far as making the playoffs a reality.
bit extended fall seems success whenever
We can't get overexcited about a three-game streak. It seems like whenever we have a little bit of success for an extended period, we seem to fall back.