GR: Can a goaltender talk about offense with the guys, or is that something you just don't do? JS: A wide receiver can see everything the quarterback does and learn about the position even though he doesn't play it. It doesn't mean you're going to be an expert or ever understand it to the extent of the person who is playing the position, but you realize where they're supposed to be and how offensive chances are created. It's a part of the game. I'm trying to stop pucks, so I realize what's successful. If we see what each other can do and help each other out, we can be successful as a team. GR: Do you ever practice slap shots? JS: Yeah! I play out during the summer time in a men's league. I enjoy scoring goals. It's a lot more fun in practice to be shooting at someone and not be getting shot at. It's part of the game to go out shoot goals. I'll probably be doing that until the day when I can't skate anymore.

GR: But goaltenders do have the coolest nicknames: Dominator, the 'Bulin Wall, Eddie the Eagle... JS: I think the old goaltenders and players had great nicknames. Nowadays, not as much. Ninety percent of our nicknames have to do with our names. Once you start playing hockey at 15, all of a sudden everyone calls you by your last name. GR: Is it true that goaltenders sweat 10 pounds a game? JS: There have been some games where I've lost 8 pounds of water, but it's a fact that you're in the game for 60 minutes, you don't really get breaks to sit on the bench. Other players lose a significant amount, too, but it's all water. The next morning I come out the same weight as I was before the game. I gain it back overnight. You do sweat, and we do keep track because the more water you lose the better chance you have of cramping and hurting yourself. GR: Are goaltenders really the best skaters? JS: The old school was that the goaltender should be the best player on the team. Most goalies can skate and they can skate well. When you reach this level, everyone can do everything. GR: Do you remember every penalty shot you've faced? JS: Pretty much. I don't face a lot of them so they're easy to remember. I've only faced three or four. It's an exciting part of the game, and you have to have a little bit of luck going for you, too. GR: As a goaltender, how do you feel about having shoot-outs to settle ties? JS: Because it's a team sport, the 20 players you put on the ice should determine the outcome of the game. To bring out 4 or 5 players on breakaways takes away from the team aspect. And whatever you do during the year, you should do in the playoffs. So if you're going to determine the Stanley Cup playoffs with a shoot-out that's fine. But if you're just going to do it during the regular season to make it more exciting for the fans you may be doing it for publicity­to promote the players rather than to keep the decency and the respectability of the game. GR: What's the dragon on your helmet all about? JS: Well, my mother's Japanese. Japanese culture meant a lot to me growing up and it means a lot to me now, so showing respect to my heritage is important to me. I'm allowed to do that by painting my mask. I have Japanese caricatures of a dragon, my name's written on the bottom in Japanese, and there's a flag on the back with my mother's initials GR: Did you give sketches or examples? JS: I'm not an artist, so I just said, "You pick a bunch of things." They picked a bunch of dragons and I really liked them. GR: It's cool that you fly the flag because it's hard to tell that you're part Japanese from your looks. JS: I look more like my dad, but my mother was born in Japan. She lived there until she was 28. Growing up you want to be like everyone else, but as you get older you realize having a Japanese heritage is something to be proud of. It's something not to back down from but to embrace. GR: What do you do when you're not playing hockey? JS: We play so much and we play so long that everything is based around our careers: training, off-ice, and summertime. My wife and I have a son now. He's almost a year old and the time has flown by, so I just try to be around my family. I don't want to miss time with my children growing up, so I'm a homebody. I like video games and I like hanging out, and that's how I spend all summer. Other than that, it's playing hockey. GR: Is it cool having a video game version of yourself? JS: It's pretty cool, but when my half-brother doesn't play me anymore then it's not so fun. GR: You never play yourself? JS: Maybe at the start you do, but no. I do play myself in football, though. GR: What do you when you're travelling? Books, music, Gameboy? JS: I've been reading books by some of the greatest coaches. They make a lot of great points that have helped me deal with things in my career. John Wooden and Vince Lombardi are two guys I've been reading a lot of. I think when someone can inspire you like that it really hits home-not just in your athletic life but in your home life. That's what we all look for, to be inspired every day.

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