Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie told reporters on a Zoom call with the media on Monday that he will likely be ready to play after a week of a mini-training camp and practice and that he and his family are all doing well.
Oshie said that he is all for playing at a neutral site location if the NHL is forced to do that. “North Dakota is probably the No. 1 place in the world I’d want to play,” he added. Oshie played college hockey at the University of North Dakota.
Even though he wants to see a Stanley Cup Champion crowned for this season, he acknowledged that safety “has to be No. 1” because the last thing he wants is for anyone to be “put in harm’s way.”
“It’s not going to be like winning a real Stanley Cup,” Oshie said.
Oshie said the hardest part of the birth of his son, Campbell, last month was the fact that his two daughters, Lyla and Leni, could not come due to coronavirus concerns.
”It was definitely a weird experience, different than the last two, but we felt safe and were able to get out of there pretty quickly.”
Leni also made an appearance on the call to tell her dad that “the red colored pencil is for blood.” Perhaps, she was working on a drawing of teammate, forward, and good friend Tom Wilson for her dad.
“You gotta wash your face.” – T.J. Oshie, to daughter, on Zoom. pic.twitter.com/wruVYftAaa
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 20, 2020
Oshie also shared an interesting bit from when he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2005. “They asked me who I was most excited to play with on the Blues. And I didn’t know anybody on the Blues, because I didn’t watch hockey,” he said, adding that he “crammed for a test” to learn the names of his teammates and coaches.
Oshie was asked about the possibility of playing at North Dakota (his alma mater). He said he just wants to play, but added “North Dakota is probably the No. 1 place in the world I’d want to play.”
On his diet during the pause, Oshie said “I typically eat fairly healthy, so it’s more so portion size. Instead of the 12-ounce steak, I go down to the eight or the six.”
By Harrison Brown
