Tangradi on Twitter, trivia and Flyers - 07-15-10
Penguins prospect Eric Tangradi spoke over the past two days about a variety of subjects including his prospects for making the NHL roster, his Twitter account (@EricTangradi), the trivia contests he holds on Twitter, his roots as a native of Philadelphia and his days as a Flyers fan.
On his role in this week's development camp:
"I wouldn’t say all eyes are on me. I think it’s really important for the young kids. For guys like me, Dustin Jeffrey, Robert Bortuzzo, we need to take a leadership role this week. Show the young guys the way. Draft picks are 18 years olds, 19 years old. This is all a new experience for them. Just got to make them feel comfortable and make it their week and just try to be a leader."
On his last year of hockey:
"I’d say the last 12 months have been a roller coaster ride. I’ve learned a lot since the last camp. This summer has been exciting for me. It’s been the first summer I’ve been healthy in a while. I was really looking forward to coming in here and getting to the testing and showing what I’m capable of. So far, I think I’ve done that."
On the potential to earn a spot among the top six forwards:
"Absolutely. I think there’s a bunch of young guys who feel the same way. I think you’re going to see a really competitive camp in September. I guess this is the stepping stone towards training camp. Impressions are everything. Come September, I’m going to be ready for the challenge."
On his game:
"I don’t really have a choice but to play physical. I think that’s something I’m going to have to do every night. Be consistent with it. Consistency is the biggest thing when you want to play in the (NHL). That’s something I can work on with my training and skating. I’m pretty confident come September, I should be ready to go."
What part of his game needs addressed:
"Definitely my quickness. I’m a big guy. The knock on all big guys is their footwork. Something in the gym I’ve spent a little extra time on every day. Just working on my quickness on the ice. I’m looking forward to working with the skating coach here and elevating that part of my game as well."
On his skating:
"Definitely first step. When you’re a winger, sometimes you’re flatfooted on the wall and you got to get it out of the zone and start the rush. I think that’s very important for me. I feel like my skating has come a long way from junior but there’s always room for improvement."
On Dan Bylsma's fondness of second chances opportunities:
"Lots of dirty goals around the net. That’s just the style I play. Come training camp, that’s what I’m going to try and do. Maybe a lot of it’s luck. Maybe a lot of it’s skill. But the front of the net is somewhere where I’m going to make a living some day."
On his Twitter account and his trivia contests known as "Tangradi Trivia:"
"I try to be active on Twitter because it means a lot to the fans to be able to follow to see what I’m doing in the summer. One day I was pretty bored and thought ‘Hey, I’ll throw trivia up,’ and see how it goes. It was a hit right off the bat. I think a lot of fans are pretty into it and it’s been fun so far."
Where does he get the questions:
"I’ll Google a question here or there. I’ll ask my dad for a question here or there but most of the time it’s someone coming up with it."
What are the toughest questions:
"Every time I ask questions about myself, people don’t really enjoy it and get pretty (mad). Anything about myself, it gets difficult."
Have the NHL or Penguins given him any guidelines on using social media:
"No, they’re pretty open to kind of do what you want. They’re okay with guys having blogs and having Twitter and stuff. It’s good for the fans. Any chance they can get to find out what we’re doing behind the scenes is great. They’re the reason the game keeps growing and keeps getting better. Any way you can give back to them is huge."
Favorite person to follow on Twitter:
"Probably (Bengals wide receiver) Chad Ochocinco (right). I think he’s an entertaining athlete. I know people in Pittsburgh won’t agree with that but he’s a fun guy to follow on Twitter."
His reaction as a Flyers fan coming to the rival Penguins:
"It wasn’t too bad because I was in Canada in the OHL for three years and I kind of lost track of the Flyers. All I saw there was the Maple Leafs and Hockey Night in Canada. I think I became more of a hockey fan at that stage and it wasn’t so much directed at the Flyers. I think once I was moved to Pittsburgh, it was a little easier than say if I was in Philly my whole life and then came over."
Favorite Flyers player growing up:
"Definitely Keith Primeau. It was easy for me being always big when I was younger, to model my game after him. So watching him when I was younger was always exciting."
Where was he when Primeau scored his winning goal in the fifth overtime of Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Semifinal at Mellon Arena:
{youtube width="480" height="385"}rHGMqXQEfw4{/youtube}
"I think I may have passed out on the couch in the second (overtime) and saw the highlight in the morning."
What he thinks his first game as a Penguin in Philadelphia will be like:
"I think it’s going to be special more than anything. Hopefully have a good night with a bunch of family and friends there. I’ve dreamt of doing that. I think it’s motivation for me to do that."
Will his family be safe in Philadelphia wearing Penguins garb:
To be completely honest, I think if I got 20 tickets for family and friends, my family would wear Pittsburgh jerseys and my friends would still wear Flyers jerseys. People in Philly would understand but you never know with the crowd down there.
Is Philadelphia's poor reputation as a sports city overblown:
"I think so. They just want to win. They’ve been in a drought for so long they’re such passionate die-hard fans. I don’t think they’re any different than any other city’s fans. They just want to win. I think their patience may be running a little low and that’s probably why you hear all the bad stories."
Did he root for the Flyers during their Stanley Cup run this spring:
"Absolutely. It’s a Cinderella story let alone the city where I grew up. Anytime you see a seventh seed and a core of guys who can fight through a 0-3 deficit (in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston) and come back and almost win the Stanley Cup, it’s exciting. I was definitely pulling for them."
(Photos: Tangradi first-Matt Freed/Post-Gazette; Tangradi second-Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette; Tangradi third-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; Trivial Pursuit board-Photobucket; Ochocinco-Scott Boehm/Getty Images; Fan-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)