Post by Admin on May 25, 2013 14:15:29 GMT
Q&A with former AHL enforcer & ex Giant, Mike Hoffman 2013
Mike Hoffman was 6'5'' 250lbs in his prime and an imposing figure out on the ice. He had a long career as a tough guy in the AHL in North America becoming one of the top fighters in the minors for a number of seasons.
Mike fought some of the great fighters of his era in the Minors like Derek Boogaard, Steve MacIntyre, Brandon Sugden, Mitch Fritz ect. as well as fighting many past & present tough guy's who have played in the EIHL over the years.
Hoffman came to the UK in 2010-2011 to join the Belfast Giants in the EIHL and in his first season impressed Belfast fans with his all-round contribution to the team. He was a tough guy who could play either on the D or as a forward and almost won a championship with the Giants that season.
Hoffman then returned to Belfast half way though the 2011-12 season, helping the Giants win the EIHL championship, scoring some important goals along the way while becoming a fan favorite in the Odyssey arena.
We @eihl_Fights caught up with Mike after he won yet another Championship, this time in the Dutch league in Europe. He kindly took the time out to answer the following Questions.
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Q1. Mike you built a good reputation in the ECHL / AHL leagues in North America over the years as a good fighter when you dropped the gloves. But before going into your first full hockey season in the AHL you were coming out of NCAA hockey were fighting does not happen that often. So what was it like in your 1st full season in the AHL fighting some of the top enforcers in that league that season like Derek Boogaard, Jeremy Yablonski, John Erskine, Brandon Sugden, Sean McMorrow, Wade Brookbank, Nathan Perrot, Raitis Ivanans .ect. Who were much more experienced fighters at that time.?
M.H.... Most people never get to know the true meaning of fear. I learned exactly what fear was that first full year in the AHL. I came into camp that season as a Dman in Cleveland and Benn Olson’s brother Glenn was set to be the tough guy, but broke his hand in rookie tourney and they asked me if I was willing to do the job. It was the last lockout and I was willing to play goalie that year if I had to. I had a few fights the year before but I was just fighting to prove I was willing to drop the gloves. Rather unprepared I went out to teach myself how to not get killed playing that season. I knew I had to fight everyone, can’t say I won many of them, but I did have some memorable ones that year. Had a win vs John Erkskin, Fought Raitis Ivanis almost every game we played and didn’t break my nose or face, which was the main goal.
My most memorable that year though was vs Bandon Sugden in a sold out Columbus arena. I remember it because I didn’t sleep for 2 days before the fight. Sugden was tearing up the AHL that year, KO and TKO after another, we had a 3 games in 3 nights set vs them. So I knew I was going to have to go with him at least twice. The first night was in Columbus and we kind of nodded in warm ups, about two shifts into the game we squared off, I ended up getting his jersey over his face for most of the fight, we both went toe to toe and I connected a few good ones, on the Video it looks like he got me when my helmet popped off, well maybe I got hit, but I was on zero sleep and the adrenaline was through the roof and didn’t feel a thing. Sugden actually tore a ligament in his thumb in that fight and I was promoted to 3rd line for a few weeks after that, getting to play my first regular hockey at forward in my career.
My year ended with Nicolase Kronwall breaking my jaw in Grand Rapids with an open ice helmet to jaw hit. One of the few non-fight injuries I had in my career.
Q2. Mike over the years you have fought some of the toughest guys around in the AHL like the guys mentioned in the first question plus others like Trevor Gillies, Graham Belak, Steve MacIntyre, DJ King, Shawn Thornton, Brett Clouthier, Mitch Fritz, Dennis Bonvie, Francis Lessard, Mike Sgroi, Martin Grenier, Kip Brennan. ect.... So seeing as you would be talking from experience. Who was the best fighter you faced in your career.?
M.H.... Great question, I’ve been asked this a lot in my career, I fought Boogaard right before he developed the deadly right, he was tough but wasn’t yet near his peak. Ivanis was defiantly the strongest of the bunch, Brendan Sugden was up there, but all of those guys really only had a big right, fighting those guys you knew exactly how they fought and could focus on tying up the right.
Steve Macintyre without a doubt was the best I fought. He had a deadly right with a left that wasn’t far off. He would switch up mid fight in the blink of an eye; I learned that during our first tilt. One of the best fight pictures I have is my twitter avatar picture (@puckhoff), I had a broken hand in the 2008 playoffs and he was running around and Kevin Dineen looked at me and said we need to get him off the ice, I said I’ll just keep my glove on, I remember punching him square in the nose and him just smiling at me. I did pull out one draw that season with him; it felt like a win because he had a nasty KO streak going.
Q3. By 2007/08 AHL season you were now a well established heavyweight in the minors and one of the better fighters in the league. You had a great season that year winning most of your fights. You dropped both Josh Gratton & Martin Grenier that season who were two good enforcers, and you fought a guy I rate as one of the best fighters around Steve MacIntyre 3 times in 07/08... What do you remember of that season in Portland?
M.H.... That season in Portland was probably the most memorable for many reasons. I had a great camp in Aneheim scoring a big goal and TKo’ing Josh Gratton, I knew I wasn’t far off my big call up, I started well in the A too, then I broke my thumb fighting Tim Conboy with the management in town and after they told me I was going up to fight Boogaard in two days.
That was a set back, but I knew I was still close, I finally came back in Early march and Broke my hand again punching Pascal Morencey’s helmet. We had a great group of guys and we all knew we could go far, so I never really let me hand heal trying to get through playoffs.
The most memorable story though was probably during our playoff run. We picked up NHL goalie J.S. Aubin at the deadline, he was on fire and told the boys he was going to take us all the way and having Bobby Ryan going end to end at will didn’t hurt
Game two Conference finals vs Wilkes Barre we dominated the first game at home and everyone was feeling great, I was in that game and everyone was warming up playing two touch soccer (there have been a few famous injuries in the NHL playing two touch, but this one has to be the most costly I’ve heard of) Almost the whole team played and we were in a circle of about 15. J.S. was on the side trying to learn a trick from one of the guys All of the sudden we hear a loud thump…J.S. was down and out…No one knew what had happened, but we knew it was bad, High Ankle sprain. We actually brought the series to 7 games and J.S. actually came back and played on one foot in game 7. Before the injury he was the hottest goalie I had ever seen in my life. Whether or not it cost us a Calder cup you have to think there was no doubt we were going to the finals if he was healthy.
Q4. Then the following season in 08/09 with Chicago Wolves you continued to impress fans. Dropping Triston Grant, Wes O'Neill and Nolan Yonkman. The Yonkman fight end with you landing a big right hand that knocked Yonkman out. But you also hurt your hand in that fight and had to leave the ice quickly with blood coming from the injury.. What do you remember about that fight.?
M.H.... That was probably my best year fighting, I worked hard that summer boxing and doing some on ice work. I worked off ice with a guy name Tim Stanton who is one of the main guys in a Boston Gang unit show on TNT called Boston’s Finest, He is what gave me my big right hand, If you watch my fights from my Manchester season leading into the Portland season you will see a big difference. On Ice I worked out with Doug Smith or famous for the movie goon the real Doug Glatt, he taught me everything to know about Balance, squaring off and grabbing on.
I was a free agent that season and had a lot of teams calling in early July. Coming off the Portland season I knew this was my year to make it. I broke my hand TKo’ing Grant in Atlanta so that was a little set back, but came to Chicago roaring to go, I had built a reputation and fear of fighting was almost gone, I knew guys feared me now. I battled Yonkman a few times, he is a good dman but was always picking on the little guys, He was the captain so I respected him a little more then usual, but still knew we were bound to come together, no one would fight me on that team after I dropped grant and Kelsey Wilson in pre season.
That game was sold out in Chicago on a Saturday night, so my Adrenaline was a little higher then normal. It was the start of the period and I buried the other dman behind the net and I saw Yonkman coming my way, if you watch the Video we came together and got separated briefly, if the fight started then I think it would have turned out a little different. I could see anger in him, when a guy is angry in a fight he loses his thought process a little and tends to open up a bit more, so I knew to be patient for a second, we got a little off balance then I could feel I had the right grab on his jersey and I pulled him in and let two of the hardest punches go in my career, second to Wes O’neil TKO. I was surprised he didn’t go down on the first punch. What you can’t see really is he actually caught me in the nose in the first one, so the second punch was a little blind on my part because my eyes are already watering. It is really hard to see, but as he goes down his skate comes up in the air and as I try to catch my balance it clipped right where my thumb and wrist meet. I saw it right away covered up and skated to the door instead of the box, as I got to the door the guy pointed at the box, I let go of my hand and blood squirted about 3-4 feet up the glass. All in all that has to be one of the most gruesome hockey fights in History, one guy is KO’d face down on the ice the other is squirting blood 4 feet in the air with blood all over the ice, I’m guessing there were a few parents in the stands that night that decided there kids may try another sport after that scene haha.
I actually talked to him after the game, not sure how much he remembers, but we shook hands and both said good luck, funny I was out longer then him with my injury. (20 stitches and some muscle damage)
Funny also that summer it came down to signing with Nashville or Atlanta
Q5. Mike you had quite a few NHL try out camps over the years but never quite made it to the Show. Was it disappointing not quite making it to the top league in hockey.?.
M.H.... If you look back at the last few questions I had in just over a 12 month span 3 broken hands, a laceration with minor ligament damage along with playing the best hockey of my career. Deep down I’m always going to have that what if and shoulda woulda coulda, but at the end of the day I came from no where, playing division 3 high school hockey in my home town for 4 years, wasn’t good enough to play regular in college hockey but made a 10 year career out of never being the best player on any team. If I look at it that way I had a successful career, but if you look at it from the other angel I never did make the NHL, I know I was more skilled then 90% of the tough guys in hockey and just as tough as a lot of them. I ran into some bad luck a few questionable deals I said no to. I will always be the dreaded guy who didn’t make it because injuries, but for me it was fighting injuries, it was my job and knew the risks. I blew out my shoulder in Hartford the year after Chicago, I knew after that I had a slim chance to make it again.
The year I signed in Belfast a lot of teams were weary because of all the injuries, I had a few camp NHL tryouts and AHL deals on the table, but in my mind my shoulder wasn’t ready for that kind of work just yet.
Q6. You joined the EIHL with the Belfast Giants in 10/11 season with a rep as an enforcer. But when you played for the Giants that season you impressed many fans with your hockey skills out on the ice. You also played for the Belfast Giants against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Pre-season game & you had a big Role (Elf) in the Giants Christmas sing song that went viral. Unfortunately the Giants just missed out on silver ware, But what were your thoughts on that season in Belfast.?
M.H.... That season had probably the most ups and downs of my career. We had the team to win everything, but sometimes things just don’t work out. I unfortunately lost my mom before Christmas that season and missed a month of playing being home with family. The Giants lost a few key games during that time, but we really lost it in Sheffield towards the end of the season to a few controversial goals and penalty’s as usual.
I knew going into that season they brought me in as a fighter and I was ready for that roll, I was coming off shoulder surgery the season before and wasn’t 100% confident fighting again, but the EIHL only had a few guys who could compete with me, so it wasn’t a big concern. We had so many injuries at the start of that season, I moved back to D and we played about a month with 4 dman, Everyone wanted to see me fight I realized that, but it wasn’t really an option because we were so short on players.
Playing against the Bruins that year was defiantly one of the best experiences I’ve had playing. It was the first all star team I was picked for. I knew coming to Belfast wanted to prove I could play the game better then my stats showed and it just clicked right away, led a team in scoring first time in my career to start the year and then the game was really special, especially my hometown team who eventually went on to win the Cup that season. That season will always stick out as the most memorable for so many reasons, Bruins, Elf Video, Pizza Contest, Masters Degree and falling in love with the city of Belfast.
(Side note I had an internship working for them after the season in youth development and Alumni relations, so I was actually a part of the organization when they won, I never got a ring or anything, but did get a Bruins Stanley cup signed jersey with my name on it)
Q7. The following year you went back to North America and the AHL. But you made a return to the Giants at a crucial stage of the 11/12 EIHL season and helped the Giants win the Championship that year. Could you tell us a little about that? and what made that Giants team one of the best in recent Giants history.?
M.H.... I felt good leaving Belfast after that season; Finished my Masters in Sports Management and my shoulder was feeling good. I was feeling strong and still had that what if in the back of my head. I knew getting a deal was going to be tough. What you don’t see on my stats is I made the AHL again which was my main goal out of camp in Houston, we had to many Vets though and after a month and a half had to be released. I then went to Vegas to get some games, then to Portland, in Portland I was used as a plug as they call it, I was the most confident, playing the best hockey of my career, but coach was putting me in for 3-5 shifts a game and I would dominate, but all they had me there was to fight and after playing a full season of being one of the go to guys you get the itch to play more.
I was actually supposed to head to Italy at the deadline but that fell through and kind of out of nowhere Doug and Ireached out to each other and I said I was available. I would say it came down to less then the last hour to pass the deadline. I was pumped and on a flight to Belfast the next day. I was following the team all year, knew they had a good squad with a good chance. Doug Said he needed me at forward so I was pumped to be back playing up front and playing with Jon Pelle wasn’t a bad deal. I knew we had something special right when I got there. Jeremy Rebek was one of the best on ice leaders I have ever played with and Dowd was as good as you get for Import or British player. The defense was deeper and better then the year before and Murph was awesome as always. (side note, I shot on NHL goalies all season in Houston and Portland and Murph was better then every one of them)
Although we lost the challenge cup and the playoffs, we went 16-0 in the regular season after I got there. It was an amazing experience and met some great guys. I would put that team up vs any team in EIHL history, Scoring depth, best checking line, deep on D, and one of the best goalies I’ve ever played with.
Q8. You are now playing in the Dutch league. What kind of standard is the hockey out in Holland.?
M.H.... The Dutch league is pretty good, it is a little thinner top to bottom then the EIHL, similar to a few years ago with Newcastle and Edinburgh, the top 4 teams could compete in the EI, but the bottom 3 struggled a bit. There are only 6 imports allowed per team. I think the Giants beat Tilburg 5-4 in pre season and we beat Tilburg 9 of 12 games during the year, so on the same level.
Having said that we just won 12 in a row including playoffs to close out the title. I was captain of the team so it was pretty special because there were a lot of ups and downs this year.
Q9. Have you read the recent scandal surrounding the Chris Knight take over bid of the Giants, and if so what your opinion on the incident. ?
M.H.... Yes I have, First I feel like the Giants are my family, top to bottom in the organization, Todd is or if not one of the best and smartest people in Professional hockey. I was bummed a little when they were sold, but it sounded like it could be for the best.
The Giants took every necessary step for damage control after they found out I feel, The guy is a con artist amongst other disturbing things (from what I have read and heard), obviously he is going to cover his tracks and unfortunately the Giants learned the hard way. It will be forgot about after a little time, but at the end of the day, he obviously wasn’t telling the truth and the Giants are one of the classiest organizations in pro hockey. The real truth will come out and everyone will understand the precautions the Giants and Todd took were right. If I had the money I’d buy the Giants tomorrow.
Now for some quick fire questions to finish off this Q&A session
Q10. Did you have fun returning to Belfast for Graham Walton's testimonial.?
M.H.... Had a blast at Wally’s testimonial, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pull if off, but It ended up working out last minute. Gave me goosebumps coming out on the ice again. Wally is such a great guy and deserved the big night he had. Consider him a friend for life.
The Fans were amazing with me, brought back so many memories. Belfast and the Odyssey will always be the most favorite I ever played in.
Q11. Have you every been beaten in a food eating competition.?
M.H.... Officially 3-0 since turning professional…I had a few devastating losses in college, but I was just a young amateur and those weren’t vs people, more if you can eat this we will put a picture on the wall, tshirt and free meal type competitions.
Q12. Did you know you are the Tallest player to play for the Giants.?
M.H.... I did not know that, but good to know, I am actually 6’5.5 and I always listed myself as 6’5 instead of 6’6 like most guys would, so guys would be less intimidated to fight me.
Well it's been great chatting to Mike. I'm sure there's a lot of EIHL teams that would love to have Mike Hoffman in their roster for the start of the 2013/14 season. But where ever or what ever Mike decides to do next year we wish him the best of luck. Cheers again.
Mike Hoffman was 6'5'' 250lbs in his prime and an imposing figure out on the ice. He had a long career as a tough guy in the AHL in North America becoming one of the top fighters in the minors for a number of seasons.
Mike fought some of the great fighters of his era in the Minors like Derek Boogaard, Steve MacIntyre, Brandon Sugden, Mitch Fritz ect. as well as fighting many past & present tough guy's who have played in the EIHL over the years.
Hoffman came to the UK in 2010-2011 to join the Belfast Giants in the EIHL and in his first season impressed Belfast fans with his all-round contribution to the team. He was a tough guy who could play either on the D or as a forward and almost won a championship with the Giants that season.
Hoffman then returned to Belfast half way though the 2011-12 season, helping the Giants win the EIHL championship, scoring some important goals along the way while becoming a fan favorite in the Odyssey arena.
We @eihl_Fights caught up with Mike after he won yet another Championship, this time in the Dutch league in Europe. He kindly took the time out to answer the following Questions.
.......
Q1. Mike you built a good reputation in the ECHL / AHL leagues in North America over the years as a good fighter when you dropped the gloves. But before going into your first full hockey season in the AHL you were coming out of NCAA hockey were fighting does not happen that often. So what was it like in your 1st full season in the AHL fighting some of the top enforcers in that league that season like Derek Boogaard, Jeremy Yablonski, John Erskine, Brandon Sugden, Sean McMorrow, Wade Brookbank, Nathan Perrot, Raitis Ivanans .ect. Who were much more experienced fighters at that time.?
M.H.... Most people never get to know the true meaning of fear. I learned exactly what fear was that first full year in the AHL. I came into camp that season as a Dman in Cleveland and Benn Olson’s brother Glenn was set to be the tough guy, but broke his hand in rookie tourney and they asked me if I was willing to do the job. It was the last lockout and I was willing to play goalie that year if I had to. I had a few fights the year before but I was just fighting to prove I was willing to drop the gloves. Rather unprepared I went out to teach myself how to not get killed playing that season. I knew I had to fight everyone, can’t say I won many of them, but I did have some memorable ones that year. Had a win vs John Erkskin, Fought Raitis Ivanis almost every game we played and didn’t break my nose or face, which was the main goal.
My most memorable that year though was vs Bandon Sugden in a sold out Columbus arena. I remember it because I didn’t sleep for 2 days before the fight. Sugden was tearing up the AHL that year, KO and TKO after another, we had a 3 games in 3 nights set vs them. So I knew I was going to have to go with him at least twice. The first night was in Columbus and we kind of nodded in warm ups, about two shifts into the game we squared off, I ended up getting his jersey over his face for most of the fight, we both went toe to toe and I connected a few good ones, on the Video it looks like he got me when my helmet popped off, well maybe I got hit, but I was on zero sleep and the adrenaline was through the roof and didn’t feel a thing. Sugden actually tore a ligament in his thumb in that fight and I was promoted to 3rd line for a few weeks after that, getting to play my first regular hockey at forward in my career.
My year ended with Nicolase Kronwall breaking my jaw in Grand Rapids with an open ice helmet to jaw hit. One of the few non-fight injuries I had in my career.
Q2. Mike over the years you have fought some of the toughest guys around in the AHL like the guys mentioned in the first question plus others like Trevor Gillies, Graham Belak, Steve MacIntyre, DJ King, Shawn Thornton, Brett Clouthier, Mitch Fritz, Dennis Bonvie, Francis Lessard, Mike Sgroi, Martin Grenier, Kip Brennan. ect.... So seeing as you would be talking from experience. Who was the best fighter you faced in your career.?
M.H.... Great question, I’ve been asked this a lot in my career, I fought Boogaard right before he developed the deadly right, he was tough but wasn’t yet near his peak. Ivanis was defiantly the strongest of the bunch, Brendan Sugden was up there, but all of those guys really only had a big right, fighting those guys you knew exactly how they fought and could focus on tying up the right.
Steve Macintyre without a doubt was the best I fought. He had a deadly right with a left that wasn’t far off. He would switch up mid fight in the blink of an eye; I learned that during our first tilt. One of the best fight pictures I have is my twitter avatar picture (@puckhoff), I had a broken hand in the 2008 playoffs and he was running around and Kevin Dineen looked at me and said we need to get him off the ice, I said I’ll just keep my glove on, I remember punching him square in the nose and him just smiling at me. I did pull out one draw that season with him; it felt like a win because he had a nasty KO streak going.
Q3. By 2007/08 AHL season you were now a well established heavyweight in the minors and one of the better fighters in the league. You had a great season that year winning most of your fights. You dropped both Josh Gratton & Martin Grenier that season who were two good enforcers, and you fought a guy I rate as one of the best fighters around Steve MacIntyre 3 times in 07/08... What do you remember of that season in Portland?
M.H.... That season in Portland was probably the most memorable for many reasons. I had a great camp in Aneheim scoring a big goal and TKo’ing Josh Gratton, I knew I wasn’t far off my big call up, I started well in the A too, then I broke my thumb fighting Tim Conboy with the management in town and after they told me I was going up to fight Boogaard in two days.
That was a set back, but I knew I was still close, I finally came back in Early march and Broke my hand again punching Pascal Morencey’s helmet. We had a great group of guys and we all knew we could go far, so I never really let me hand heal trying to get through playoffs.
The most memorable story though was probably during our playoff run. We picked up NHL goalie J.S. Aubin at the deadline, he was on fire and told the boys he was going to take us all the way and having Bobby Ryan going end to end at will didn’t hurt
Game two Conference finals vs Wilkes Barre we dominated the first game at home and everyone was feeling great, I was in that game and everyone was warming up playing two touch soccer (there have been a few famous injuries in the NHL playing two touch, but this one has to be the most costly I’ve heard of) Almost the whole team played and we were in a circle of about 15. J.S. was on the side trying to learn a trick from one of the guys All of the sudden we hear a loud thump…J.S. was down and out…No one knew what had happened, but we knew it was bad, High Ankle sprain. We actually brought the series to 7 games and J.S. actually came back and played on one foot in game 7. Before the injury he was the hottest goalie I had ever seen in my life. Whether or not it cost us a Calder cup you have to think there was no doubt we were going to the finals if he was healthy.
Q4. Then the following season in 08/09 with Chicago Wolves you continued to impress fans. Dropping Triston Grant, Wes O'Neill and Nolan Yonkman. The Yonkman fight end with you landing a big right hand that knocked Yonkman out. But you also hurt your hand in that fight and had to leave the ice quickly with blood coming from the injury.. What do you remember about that fight.?
M.H.... That was probably my best year fighting, I worked hard that summer boxing and doing some on ice work. I worked off ice with a guy name Tim Stanton who is one of the main guys in a Boston Gang unit show on TNT called Boston’s Finest, He is what gave me my big right hand, If you watch my fights from my Manchester season leading into the Portland season you will see a big difference. On Ice I worked out with Doug Smith or famous for the movie goon the real Doug Glatt, he taught me everything to know about Balance, squaring off and grabbing on.
I was a free agent that season and had a lot of teams calling in early July. Coming off the Portland season I knew this was my year to make it. I broke my hand TKo’ing Grant in Atlanta so that was a little set back, but came to Chicago roaring to go, I had built a reputation and fear of fighting was almost gone, I knew guys feared me now. I battled Yonkman a few times, he is a good dman but was always picking on the little guys, He was the captain so I respected him a little more then usual, but still knew we were bound to come together, no one would fight me on that team after I dropped grant and Kelsey Wilson in pre season.
That game was sold out in Chicago on a Saturday night, so my Adrenaline was a little higher then normal. It was the start of the period and I buried the other dman behind the net and I saw Yonkman coming my way, if you watch the Video we came together and got separated briefly, if the fight started then I think it would have turned out a little different. I could see anger in him, when a guy is angry in a fight he loses his thought process a little and tends to open up a bit more, so I knew to be patient for a second, we got a little off balance then I could feel I had the right grab on his jersey and I pulled him in and let two of the hardest punches go in my career, second to Wes O’neil TKO. I was surprised he didn’t go down on the first punch. What you can’t see really is he actually caught me in the nose in the first one, so the second punch was a little blind on my part because my eyes are already watering. It is really hard to see, but as he goes down his skate comes up in the air and as I try to catch my balance it clipped right where my thumb and wrist meet. I saw it right away covered up and skated to the door instead of the box, as I got to the door the guy pointed at the box, I let go of my hand and blood squirted about 3-4 feet up the glass. All in all that has to be one of the most gruesome hockey fights in History, one guy is KO’d face down on the ice the other is squirting blood 4 feet in the air with blood all over the ice, I’m guessing there were a few parents in the stands that night that decided there kids may try another sport after that scene haha.
I actually talked to him after the game, not sure how much he remembers, but we shook hands and both said good luck, funny I was out longer then him with my injury. (20 stitches and some muscle damage)
Funny also that summer it came down to signing with Nashville or Atlanta
Q5. Mike you had quite a few NHL try out camps over the years but never quite made it to the Show. Was it disappointing not quite making it to the top league in hockey.?.
M.H.... If you look back at the last few questions I had in just over a 12 month span 3 broken hands, a laceration with minor ligament damage along with playing the best hockey of my career. Deep down I’m always going to have that what if and shoulda woulda coulda, but at the end of the day I came from no where, playing division 3 high school hockey in my home town for 4 years, wasn’t good enough to play regular in college hockey but made a 10 year career out of never being the best player on any team. If I look at it that way I had a successful career, but if you look at it from the other angel I never did make the NHL, I know I was more skilled then 90% of the tough guys in hockey and just as tough as a lot of them. I ran into some bad luck a few questionable deals I said no to. I will always be the dreaded guy who didn’t make it because injuries, but for me it was fighting injuries, it was my job and knew the risks. I blew out my shoulder in Hartford the year after Chicago, I knew after that I had a slim chance to make it again.
The year I signed in Belfast a lot of teams were weary because of all the injuries, I had a few camp NHL tryouts and AHL deals on the table, but in my mind my shoulder wasn’t ready for that kind of work just yet.
Q6. You joined the EIHL with the Belfast Giants in 10/11 season with a rep as an enforcer. But when you played for the Giants that season you impressed many fans with your hockey skills out on the ice. You also played for the Belfast Giants against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Pre-season game & you had a big Role (Elf) in the Giants Christmas sing song that went viral. Unfortunately the Giants just missed out on silver ware, But what were your thoughts on that season in Belfast.?
M.H.... That season had probably the most ups and downs of my career. We had the team to win everything, but sometimes things just don’t work out. I unfortunately lost my mom before Christmas that season and missed a month of playing being home with family. The Giants lost a few key games during that time, but we really lost it in Sheffield towards the end of the season to a few controversial goals and penalty’s as usual.
I knew going into that season they brought me in as a fighter and I was ready for that roll, I was coming off shoulder surgery the season before and wasn’t 100% confident fighting again, but the EIHL only had a few guys who could compete with me, so it wasn’t a big concern. We had so many injuries at the start of that season, I moved back to D and we played about a month with 4 dman, Everyone wanted to see me fight I realized that, but it wasn’t really an option because we were so short on players.
Playing against the Bruins that year was defiantly one of the best experiences I’ve had playing. It was the first all star team I was picked for. I knew coming to Belfast wanted to prove I could play the game better then my stats showed and it just clicked right away, led a team in scoring first time in my career to start the year and then the game was really special, especially my hometown team who eventually went on to win the Cup that season. That season will always stick out as the most memorable for so many reasons, Bruins, Elf Video, Pizza Contest, Masters Degree and falling in love with the city of Belfast.
(Side note I had an internship working for them after the season in youth development and Alumni relations, so I was actually a part of the organization when they won, I never got a ring or anything, but did get a Bruins Stanley cup signed jersey with my name on it)
Q7. The following year you went back to North America and the AHL. But you made a return to the Giants at a crucial stage of the 11/12 EIHL season and helped the Giants win the Championship that year. Could you tell us a little about that? and what made that Giants team one of the best in recent Giants history.?
M.H.... I felt good leaving Belfast after that season; Finished my Masters in Sports Management and my shoulder was feeling good. I was feeling strong and still had that what if in the back of my head. I knew getting a deal was going to be tough. What you don’t see on my stats is I made the AHL again which was my main goal out of camp in Houston, we had to many Vets though and after a month and a half had to be released. I then went to Vegas to get some games, then to Portland, in Portland I was used as a plug as they call it, I was the most confident, playing the best hockey of my career, but coach was putting me in for 3-5 shifts a game and I would dominate, but all they had me there was to fight and after playing a full season of being one of the go to guys you get the itch to play more.
I was actually supposed to head to Italy at the deadline but that fell through and kind of out of nowhere Doug and Ireached out to each other and I said I was available. I would say it came down to less then the last hour to pass the deadline. I was pumped and on a flight to Belfast the next day. I was following the team all year, knew they had a good squad with a good chance. Doug Said he needed me at forward so I was pumped to be back playing up front and playing with Jon Pelle wasn’t a bad deal. I knew we had something special right when I got there. Jeremy Rebek was one of the best on ice leaders I have ever played with and Dowd was as good as you get for Import or British player. The defense was deeper and better then the year before and Murph was awesome as always. (side note, I shot on NHL goalies all season in Houston and Portland and Murph was better then every one of them)
Although we lost the challenge cup and the playoffs, we went 16-0 in the regular season after I got there. It was an amazing experience and met some great guys. I would put that team up vs any team in EIHL history, Scoring depth, best checking line, deep on D, and one of the best goalies I’ve ever played with.
Q8. You are now playing in the Dutch league. What kind of standard is the hockey out in Holland.?
M.H.... The Dutch league is pretty good, it is a little thinner top to bottom then the EIHL, similar to a few years ago with Newcastle and Edinburgh, the top 4 teams could compete in the EI, but the bottom 3 struggled a bit. There are only 6 imports allowed per team. I think the Giants beat Tilburg 5-4 in pre season and we beat Tilburg 9 of 12 games during the year, so on the same level.
Having said that we just won 12 in a row including playoffs to close out the title. I was captain of the team so it was pretty special because there were a lot of ups and downs this year.
Q9. Have you read the recent scandal surrounding the Chris Knight take over bid of the Giants, and if so what your opinion on the incident. ?
M.H.... Yes I have, First I feel like the Giants are my family, top to bottom in the organization, Todd is or if not one of the best and smartest people in Professional hockey. I was bummed a little when they were sold, but it sounded like it could be for the best.
The Giants took every necessary step for damage control after they found out I feel, The guy is a con artist amongst other disturbing things (from what I have read and heard), obviously he is going to cover his tracks and unfortunately the Giants learned the hard way. It will be forgot about after a little time, but at the end of the day, he obviously wasn’t telling the truth and the Giants are one of the classiest organizations in pro hockey. The real truth will come out and everyone will understand the precautions the Giants and Todd took were right. If I had the money I’d buy the Giants tomorrow.
Now for some quick fire questions to finish off this Q&A session
Q10. Did you have fun returning to Belfast for Graham Walton's testimonial.?
M.H.... Had a blast at Wally’s testimonial, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pull if off, but It ended up working out last minute. Gave me goosebumps coming out on the ice again. Wally is such a great guy and deserved the big night he had. Consider him a friend for life.
The Fans were amazing with me, brought back so many memories. Belfast and the Odyssey will always be the most favorite I ever played in.
Q11. Have you every been beaten in a food eating competition.?
M.H.... Officially 3-0 since turning professional…I had a few devastating losses in college, but I was just a young amateur and those weren’t vs people, more if you can eat this we will put a picture on the wall, tshirt and free meal type competitions.
Q12. Did you know you are the Tallest player to play for the Giants.?
M.H.... I did not know that, but good to know, I am actually 6’5.5 and I always listed myself as 6’5 instead of 6’6 like most guys would, so guys would be less intimidated to fight me.
Well it's been great chatting to Mike. I'm sure there's a lot of EIHL teams that would love to have Mike Hoffman in their roster for the start of the 2013/14 season. But where ever or what ever Mike decides to do next year we wish him the best of luck. Cheers again.