Game On Magazine 2017 Game On Magazine - Regular Season Edition | Page 72

And for a 23-year-old
undersized forward who
is also as tough as an old
shoe, Leipsic is just a down
home Winnipeg guy enjoying
hockey wherever it’s played.
After all, this is a guy
whose favourite rink is The
Maples (“We won a couple
championships there in
Bantam,” he said) and whose
only superstition is, “…to not
have any superstitions – I
just try to keep it loose.” He’s
a guy who has made it to the
semi-finals of the Golden
Knights team-wide Fantasy
Football League, listens to
rap and EDM before the game
and doesn’t mind the rookie
rituals of picking up pucks
after practice and never being
the first guy off the ice.
Leipsic sat down with Game
On’s Carter Brooks to talk
about taking advantage of
opportunities, living life in
the desert and appreciating
everything mom and dad
did to get a “too-small”
forward to the NHL.
HOW WAS YOUR
EXPERIENCE WITH
THE NHL EXPANSION
DRAFT AND HOW DOES
IT FEEL TO BE A VEGAS
GOLDEN KNIGHT?
BL I wasn’t sure if I was go-
ing to be protected or not by
Toronto, and then the pre-draft
list came out and I knew there
would be a chance that I would
be taken by Vegas. I was really
thrilled that I went there as it
brought a lot of new opportuni-
ties with it, especially getting
out of the logjam in Toronto.
Then I ended up signing a
contract with Vegas and went
to camp in hopes of making the
team. I made the opening night
roster and it has been an awe-
some experience so far.
WHAT WAS YOUR
FIRST IMPRESSION
OF LAS VEGAS?
BL It was pretty incredible.
Myself and a couple of the oth-
er Winnipeggers, Cody Eakin
and Calvin Pickard, actually
drove our cars down and drove
through the mountains and
the desert, it was pretty cool.
Just seeing the strip and all the
fireworks that came down for
the first time was a really neat
experience. Now I’m living in
a residential area, right in the
canyon – it’s pretty great living
here away from everything.
HAVE YOU ADAPTED
TO THE LAS VEGAS
LIFESTYLE?
BL Everybody lives off the
strip in an area where our
practice arena is located, called
Summerlin. It’s a great commu-
nity – there is lots of shopping
out here. We have our games on
the weekends and evenings, but
we also have some of the best
restaurants in the world here.
So after the games you can go
out to the big hotels and grab a
bite to eat. When you’re done
there you just take a drive back
to your house in Summerlin,
and it doesn’t even feel like
you’re in Vegas anymore.
7 2 | G A M E O N | R E G U L AR S EA S ON ED IT ION 2 018
CAN YOU TELL ME A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
HOCKEY TEAM AND
ITS EARLY SUCCESS?
BL We are all just buying in to
what we are learning, and in
turn carrying that out here.
We have a great coach, great
coaching staff, and all the guys
playing here have big chips on
their shoulders. Remember, our
first line guys may have been
third or fourth line guys on
other teams, so everybody has a
lot to prove – including myself.
We’ve had great goaltending,
and it’s a great place to play; it’s
a lot of fun. The arena is always
loud, and we just have to try to
continue riding this wave.
HOW DID THE TEAM
HANDLE ALL OF THAT
MISFORTUNE OFF THE
START, WITH THREE OR
FOUR GOALIES GOING
DOWN WITH INJURIES?
BL It was pretty incredible.
We have generally been pretty
healthy throughout our lineup,
but our goalies just got a bit
banged up. We’ve had this
‘next man up’ kind of mental-
ity. I think that the style of
game that we play – playing as a
five-man unit in all three zones –
keeps us remaining competitive
every night. Our goalies made
the big saves, and guys got op-
portunities being the next man
up. The boys did a great job of it.
HOW SPECIAL IT IS TO
HAVE SOMEONE FROM
YOUR HOMETOWN
PLAYING ALONGSIDE YOU?
BL Yeah it’s awesome. Calvin
Pickard was with us earlier,
before he was dealt to Toronto.
Cody Eakin has been a close
friend of mine for a handful of
years now. We’ve been training
together for the last half-a-dozen
summers or so. Now we are on
the same line and its actually
kind of crazy. You would never
think you would be playing on
the same line in the NHL with
one of your buddies from back
home.