Higgins interview from Canadiens magazine
Aug 6, 2003 10:48:47 GMT -5
Post by MPLABBE on Aug 6, 2003 10:48:47 GMT -5
A special thanks to higgsfan over at HF:
CHRIS HIGGINS
One "Yale" of a year
In our sports-mad society, nearly everyone grows up cheering for a favorite team. But what are the odds of a fan actually playing for his favorite team? Very, very long odds. But if all goes well, Chris Higgins will beat the odds.
There's a good chance Habs fan Higgins will attend training camp and pull on the bleu-blanc-rouge sweater, something about which countless others have only fantasized. If so, it will be a win-win situation, because Higgins, is one of the most promising players in the game. Last season, the 19-year-old center on Yale's top line, piled up a mountain of honors, easily justifying his first round selection by the Canadiens, 14th overall in the 2002 Entry Draft. He was named first team centre on the East All-American Squad, was co-Player of the Year in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, led the ECAC with 18 goals in 21 conference games and was sixth in the nation with 0.71 goals per game. He also led Yale for the second straight year, with a team-high 20 goals and 41 points, and was voted Yale's Most Valuable Player by his teammates.
"Chris is one of the best student athletes to compete for the Winged Beavers. Not only is he an accomplished hockey player, but an oustanding young man."
-John Gardner, hockey coach, Avon Old Farms
A standout for the second consecutive year on the U.S. National team at the World Junior Tournament, he demolished the Swiss team with two second period shorthanded goals and was second in team scoring for the U.S. side. In the 2001 World Junior Championships, he led Team USA side in scoring. Although only a sophomore, he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (presented annually to the top college player nationwide), the Walter Brown Award, as the top New England collegian and received the Herb Gallagher Award as the top forward in New England. Not bad for a kid from Long Island.
So when did the love story between Chris and hockey all begun? "I started skating when I was four or five," recounts Chris, who was born in 1983. "I was so young, I don't even remember the first time."
Chris is more than a fine hockey player, he's also been an excellent student. "My parents always said, "You can't play hockey unless you make your grades," he relays. "Education is important in my family."
"Chris Higgins is a very intelligent player, with good speed and solid scoring ability. He's not afraid to be physical, despite his size."
- Pierre McGuire, TSN TV analyst
Tim Taylor, Yale's head coach, has anything but excellent comments about Chris. "He tries to understand every aspect, every angle of each situation, so you learn to better analyze the game from him." It's no surprise the NHL player Higgins most admires is Peter Forsberg, but the player he likes to watch the most is Canadiens captain Saku Koivu. "He's probably one of the game's smartest players." Koivu might soon share a dressing room. The two will have at least one big thing in common -- an unquenchable desire to succeed despite the odds.
"Chris is an oustanding two-way player. He is also one of the most complete and talented players in college hockey and has the potential to control the game offensively and make all the players on the ice more effective."
"I refuse to fail," says Higgins, revealing much about his character. "I refuse to have someone say I'm not good enough. This has been my dream for my entire life." A dream many of us have, but Chris Higgins may actually live!
-----------
how can you not like this kid?
CHRIS HIGGINS
One "Yale" of a year
In our sports-mad society, nearly everyone grows up cheering for a favorite team. But what are the odds of a fan actually playing for his favorite team? Very, very long odds. But if all goes well, Chris Higgins will beat the odds.
There's a good chance Habs fan Higgins will attend training camp and pull on the bleu-blanc-rouge sweater, something about which countless others have only fantasized. If so, it will be a win-win situation, because Higgins, is one of the most promising players in the game. Last season, the 19-year-old center on Yale's top line, piled up a mountain of honors, easily justifying his first round selection by the Canadiens, 14th overall in the 2002 Entry Draft. He was named first team centre on the East All-American Squad, was co-Player of the Year in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, led the ECAC with 18 goals in 21 conference games and was sixth in the nation with 0.71 goals per game. He also led Yale for the second straight year, with a team-high 20 goals and 41 points, and was voted Yale's Most Valuable Player by his teammates.
"Chris is one of the best student athletes to compete for the Winged Beavers. Not only is he an accomplished hockey player, but an oustanding young man."
-John Gardner, hockey coach, Avon Old Farms
A standout for the second consecutive year on the U.S. National team at the World Junior Tournament, he demolished the Swiss team with two second period shorthanded goals and was second in team scoring for the U.S. side. In the 2001 World Junior Championships, he led Team USA side in scoring. Although only a sophomore, he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (presented annually to the top college player nationwide), the Walter Brown Award, as the top New England collegian and received the Herb Gallagher Award as the top forward in New England. Not bad for a kid from Long Island.
So when did the love story between Chris and hockey all begun? "I started skating when I was four or five," recounts Chris, who was born in 1983. "I was so young, I don't even remember the first time."
Chris is more than a fine hockey player, he's also been an excellent student. "My parents always said, "You can't play hockey unless you make your grades," he relays. "Education is important in my family."
"Chris Higgins is a very intelligent player, with good speed and solid scoring ability. He's not afraid to be physical, despite his size."
- Pierre McGuire, TSN TV analyst
Tim Taylor, Yale's head coach, has anything but excellent comments about Chris. "He tries to understand every aspect, every angle of each situation, so you learn to better analyze the game from him." It's no surprise the NHL player Higgins most admires is Peter Forsberg, but the player he likes to watch the most is Canadiens captain Saku Koivu. "He's probably one of the game's smartest players." Koivu might soon share a dressing room. The two will have at least one big thing in common -- an unquenchable desire to succeed despite the odds.
"Chris is an oustanding two-way player. He is also one of the most complete and talented players in college hockey and has the potential to control the game offensively and make all the players on the ice more effective."
"I refuse to fail," says Higgins, revealing much about his character. "I refuse to have someone say I'm not good enough. This has been my dream for my entire life." A dream many of us have, but Chris Higgins may actually live!
-----------
how can you not like this kid?
