Game On Magazine 2017 Game On Magazine - Regular Season Edition | Page 64

Phantoms defenceman to
put up better numbers than
Sanheim was point machine
T.J. Brennan – who at the
time had eight years of AHL
experience under his belt.
“Playing in the AHL last
year was definitely a stepping
stone for me,” Sanheim said. “It
helped me grow as a player as
I was going up against grown
men and competing against
those guys every day. Coming
into this year, that definitely
made things a lot easier.”
One of the most important
reasons for Sanheim’s
comfortable jump to the
NHL has been the help he’s
received from his defense
partner, Radko Gudas. The
rough-and-tumble Gudas,
a six-year NHL veteran, has
helped Sanheim adjust to
daily life at the NHL level.
“Gudy has been good to
me. We communicate about
everything after each shift,”
Sanheim said. “It makes it
easier having guys like that
who you can lean on and
“
I’M JUST
FOCUSING ON
WHAT I CAN
CONTROL, AND
PLAYING THE
BEST I CAN
”
help support you. He’s always
there for you when you make
a mistake, and also with the
good stuff as well. Having
him around has really just
allowed me to play my game.
“Every day is a new
challenge, and now more
than ever I am trying to find
my place in the lineup. I’m
not worried about any of the
outside stuff, I’m just focusing
on what I can control, and
playing the best I can. Right
now, I know what I can do
offensively, but I really need to
focus on some little areas of my
game defensively by making
smarter reads. I’ve watched a
lot of video both on my own
and with the coaching staff –
there is always lots to learn.”
TRAVIS SANHEIM AND TEAMMATE
NOLAN PATRICK FROM WINNIPEG
6 4 | G AME ON | R EGU L A R SEASON ED ITION 2018
Back on Nov. 16,
Sanheim made his first NHL
appearance in Winnipeg.
He learned that night just
how dearly he is loved and
supported throughout
Manitoba – especially in the
community of Elkhorn.
“Yeah it’s obviously what I
would call my hometown game,
even though it’s not Elkhorn,”
Sanheim said. “I certainly had
lots of friends and family out
from back home – it’s nice to
see some familiar faces. It’s
been great and the support
only continues to grow.
I’m getting more and more
supporters back home and I
look to talk to those guys a lot.
I know my family and brother
are always communicating
with me. It’s been nothing but
great support from them.”
Sanheim admitted to
acquiring roughly 50 tickets
for friends and family from
Elkhorn prior to that Thursday
night date in Winnipeg.
But in taking just one quick
glance around the Flyers’
pre-game warmup, it was
evident that the number of
Sanheim supporters certainly
exceeded his prediction.
Elkhorn has fewer than 500
residents. With a minimum
of 50 of those residents in
attendance, it means that at
least 10 percent of the village
made the four hour drive east
to Winnipeg to watch the local
product play his first National
Hockey League game back
in the province. Topping off
the momentous night for the
Sanheim family was Travis’
grandmother, who made the
drive out to Winnipeg with
his grandfather to take in
her very first NHL game.
“The NHL has always been
the goal for me,” Sanheim
admitted. “Especially with
the Jets coming back when
I was younger. I remember
having that goal of one day
coming back here and playing
against them in front of family
and friends. It has been a
dream come true. Growing
up in such a small town and
working this hard to get
here and now having that
same small town return the
favour and come out here to
support me… it’s incredible.”
As for his welcome-to-the-
NHL-moment, Sanheim could
think of two possibilities.
“I definitely had one in
Nashville where I got blown
up pretty good, which I think
was a pretty good welcome
message,” he said with a
chuckle. “But I think early on in
my first game in Los Angeles,
just playing in that building
– in that atmosphere; it was
kind of a wow moment. Like
“holy crap I’m in the NHL”, and
I think that was a pretty cool
experience. It’s something I’ll
certainly remember forever.” ❍