Post by oneillthegiant on Jun 30, 2013 23:07:16 GMT
Hockeyfights.com Q&A with enforcer Paul Kruse in 2003.
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www.hockeyfights.com/articles/162
Graham Smyth
Apr 25, 2003
Paul Kruse played over 400 games in the NHL, racking up more than 1000 PIMs between 1990 and 2001. Paul was drafted by the Calgary Flames and played there for several seasons before moving to the Islanders, then the Sabres and finally the San Jose Sharks. Last season Kruse was captain of the Sheffield Steelers, and led them to glory in the playoffs. Paul has been captain of the Belfast Giants this year, scoring 5 goals and 13 assists in the regular season, and 3+5 in the playoffs. Despite not taking any fighting majors in the regular season, Paul has fought four times since the start of the playoffs.
Graham: Do you remember your first fight?
Paul: My first professional fight? Yeah sure, I guess my first fight in the NHL was with a guy called Jim Thomson in 1990. I was in the minors all year, got called up and played one game, and I think he was a call up as well for L.A, and I had a fight with him. He was a lot older, he retired after that year so he’s probably about 45 years old (laughs) I remember he was a really big guy, I was pretty nervous but it went pretty well though.
Graham: Did you ever take any steps to improve as a fighter?
Paul: I took three years of boxing when I was with Calgary when I was younger. One of the directors for the Flames used to call me all the time and he was an older guy who used to coach with the Montreal Canadiens and he thought the boxing would be a good idea. For three summers I took boxing lessons, and I thought it helped me quite a bit. It’s a great cardio workout so it actually helped me train for hockey as well.
Graham: Have you got a set strategy that you use when you fight?
Paul: When I was younger I was probably more aggressive than I am now, but it depends who you fight. When I did leave the NHL I was kinda an average sized guy, the guys these days are much bigger, whereas here I’m one of the bigger guys. If you’re fighting a really big guy, you just know how he fights; you want to change your tactics and not just stand there and throw punch for punch. You wanna try and grapple a bit and get him where you can, but defend yourself at the same time.
Graham: When did you realize that fighting was going to be a major part of your game?
Paul: When I was younger I had some older cousins who played hockey and they were very physical players and I used to go watch them play all the time in Junior and say “Holy Geez”… but they showed me quite a few things and then when I was 15 I went to New-Westminster Bruins camp, probably the toughest team in the WHL, and I had a few fights in training camp. Went fairly well again and I thought, “Jesus this isn’t too bad”. It kinda stuck with me from there.
Graham: Did you have any rivalries in the minors that stuck in your memory?
Paul: Oh yeah, the minors was crazy when I just started. I think I had 27 majors, in my first year in the minors. Every night, or every other night it seemed you were battling with somebody. I dunno if you know the names…. but Gino Odjick, Shawn Antoski……Vancouver had a bunch of tough guys that we had a big rivalry with, when they were down in Milwaukee and I was in Salt Lake. There were a lot of different battles!
Graham: Who was the toughest guy that you faced?
Paul: You know they’re all pretty tough, I mean a fight can go any way on any given night. A guy can get lucky, or a guy might only match up against someone that other guys do better against. For me, thinking back, it was probably Darin Kimble when he was St. Louis. He was runnin’ the league a little bit, and I hit Brett Hull and he (Kimble) came after me and we ended up having a pretty good fight. I think we broke each other’s noses (laughs) by the time it was done.
Graham: Do you remember a night in Buffalo, when you fought Zmolek as Rob Ray was fighting Dennis Bonvie?
Paul: Oh yeah (grins)… yeah
Graham: What are your memories of that night? Some fans still talk about it....
Paul: Yeah, that was kind of a classic moment. It was actually a double knockout, ‘cuz we were fighting at the same time and we knocked them down at the exact same time. It was a strange, strange night…but he came after me while Rob Ray was fighting Dennis Bonvie, but yeah, he came right out after me. It was a strange night!
Graham: Did you ever fight anyone that you were good friends with?
Paul: Oh yeah, definitely. Where I played Junior in the Western League, the majority of the tough guys come from the Western League. I didn’t really have a lot of close friends that I fought but the guys that I’d battled with in Junior, and come up in the ranks with, those are the kinda guys you talked to after the game, or have a beer with. In another couple of weeks you were in the predicament again (fighting them) it makes it a little tougher, but we have a respect for each other and there are no cheap shots. He’s trying just as hard as I’m trying to beat him, so there are no hard feelings.
Graham: Darcy Hordichuk has called you one of the toughest guys that he’s had to face, what’s it like hearing things like that from guys in the NHL nowadays?
Paul: Well it’s good to hear you know, I still remember that, it was just a few years back when he had a great year. He was battling with everybody, just trying to make his name and I was in that position before too, just trying to make it for myself. He came out and asked me to fight, and it was kind of a nothing game and I said “Not right now”, then something had happened on the ice, and he came over and gave me a shot, and actually cut me in the crowd. So the linesmen grabbed us and I said “Well we’re gonna go as soon as I get stitched up so you might as well let us go now” and they let us go to centre and fight. It was a good battle, and I remember hitting him with a couple of pretty good punches, but he wouldn’t go down, he’s a tough kid. He apologized to me after the fight about the shot that he cut me with, which shows a lot for a young guy to do… and for him to say that about me is a great honour.
Graham: Did you know anything about the ISL before you decided to come over?
Paul: I heard a few things from guys, but I didn’t know too much about it. When you hear about hockey in the UK you kinda think, “Geez, I didn’t know that existed” but there was a guy, called Ryan Stewart, he was a first round in Winnipeg and he came over here. We were from the same hometown and he had told me a few things about it so yeah, I was a little familiar with it. Then I heard McSorley (Chris) was in London, and I heard that some of the guys that I used to play with and fight were in London and I thought “What kind of league are they runnin’ over there!?” I heard you were allowed to fight in the UK, so I did hear about it in that regard.
Graham: What’s it like coming here and having so much ice time and maybe taking on a different role to the ones you’ve had previously?
Paul: Well that’s why I’m still playing and that’s what makes it so enjoyable for me, ‘cuz when I was playing in North America I was a fourth line player. Some nights I played three minutes and some nights I might have played nine, but it was usually under than ten-minute mark. It gets frustrating sometimes and you get labelled as a fighter, and that was it as far as a role-player. To come over here is kinda nice ‘cuz I get to play on special teams, penalty kill and powerplay. It’s fun again for me, ‘cuz I missed that for a long time and I was losing touch with the game, but now that I’m over here its great. Last year I had tons of ice time, and we had loads of injuries here in Sheffield and I was on the ice all the time and I just loved it. It was part of my decision to come back this year, and it’s the same, just playing tons and having fun.
Graham: In your fight with Paxton (Schulte) last season, who do you think won?
Paul: Well, I don’t wanna say that I won, ‘cuz Paxton’s a tough guy and I think it went pretty even to tell you the truth. He stood up for himself and I stood up for myself pretty well and it was good.
Graham: You didn’t have any fights in the regular season this year, why do you think that was?
Paul: I’m not sure, I mean I don’t go out looking for it, but if someone is taking advantage of us or rubbing us the wrong way then that’s when I usually go out and try to make my presence felt and make a statement. It hasn’t really called this season, although in some games against Nottingham I wasn’t playing and it was pretty frustrating ‘cuz some of the cheap shots that were going on, and it bugged me a lot. I challenged a few guys during the year and nothing happened but, in the playoffs I’ve had what?
Graham: Four
Paul: Yeah, four fights, and that’s the way it usually goes. Sometimes you go ten games without and all of a sudden you’ll have to fight in the next ten.
Graham: You’ve had a pretty heated rivalry with Jason Clarke (Nottingham) this season and you fought him the other week, so is that the end of that?
Paul: Um yeah, if he keeps his mouth shut you know? He’s one of those guys who likes to talk all the time and that kinda bothers me ‘cuz I’m not a big talker on the ice and I’d rather just fight and get it over with and carry on. There’s no reason to get into any detail of what he says, but I don’t have a lot of respect for him, although at least he did fight me last game. I thought he hung on more than anything, I couldn’t get free or throw any punches and I had bruises on my arms where he had a hold of me.
Graham: You seemed to be laughing or smiling during the fight...
Paul: Yeah (grins)
Graham: Were you taking him seriously?
Paul: No, I wasn’t really. It was the first shift too and it kind caught me a little by surprise but still, he got in there and he got hold of me. I guess I can respect him a little bit for at least fighting me, after Dody Wood had to stick up for him a couple of times. I don’t know if it’s over or not, we might not even play each other again so we’ll see what happens. He’s usually good for a penalty or two against us so we might just have to work with that too.
Graham: What about the fight with Chris Slater (London) this week? What happened there?
Paul: I’m not sure; he just came at me out of nowhere. I think I was trying to go around a d-man, Blanchard I think, and I may have clipped him with my stick which was accidental, and I got the puck along the wall. Then he (Slater) came flying over at me and had his gloves off (laughs) and was swinging at me. I was just kinda going to push him down and then he just missed me with one and got me mad so I dropped my gloves and hit him a few times. You can only have so many fights and then you start getting suspended and fined so I just wanted to be careful about that. It wasn’t really much.
Graham: Is there anyone in the league that you’d like to go toe-to-toe with?
Paul: Nah, not really. If something happens then it happens but I’m not one that says “I’m gonna fight that guy there ‘cuz he’s there and he’s supposed to be tough” It’s not really high on my priority list to be able to say I’m the toughest in the ISL, or to chase guys down to try and prove a point. I think reputation goes quite a way, hopefully players will respect my teammates and me a little more for it, and I won’t have to fight because of it.
Graham: What are your plans for next season or the next few years?
Paul: Um, I’m not sure, you know I wasn’t sure if I was going to play the last year couple of years but I’m still playing. I’m just going to put my name in quite a few places and if something comes about that’s a good situation for my family and myself then I’ll take it. If not then I’ll probably call it quits ‘cuz I don’t know how this league’s progressing. We’ll see what happens.
Graham: Would you consider playing in Belfast next season?
Paul: Yeah, if the salary stayed the same and the calibre stayed the same. I can’t see myself going down in calibre ‘cuz it wouldn’t be enjoyable for me.
Graham: Have you enjoyed your year in Belfast?
Paul: Yeah, it’s actually been great. I had a good time here (Sheffield) last year but I’m having a great time this year, and my family is happy, we’ve got a good place to live. That’s the important part, and it makes it a little better and easier when they’re happy.
Despite being universally recognized as the toughest guy in the ISL, Paul Kruse was as modest and down to earth as any hockey player I've met previously. It was a pleasure to interview a guy with as much NHL experience as Paul and I wish him well with whatever the next few seasons may bring. "Kruser" may be one of the last ex-NHL tough guys that plays in the UK for some time, and will definitely be remembered as one of the toughest to ever play over here. Thanks to the Belfast Giants, in particular Peter Collins, and of course Paul Kruse.
..............
This Q&A was posted on the Web's leading hockey fight site www.hockeyfights.com/ by Graham Smyth
Apr 25, 2003
www.hockeyfights.com/articles/162
Graham Smyth
Apr 25, 2003
Paul Kruse played over 400 games in the NHL, racking up more than 1000 PIMs between 1990 and 2001. Paul was drafted by the Calgary Flames and played there for several seasons before moving to the Islanders, then the Sabres and finally the San Jose Sharks. Last season Kruse was captain of the Sheffield Steelers, and led them to glory in the playoffs. Paul has been captain of the Belfast Giants this year, scoring 5 goals and 13 assists in the regular season, and 3+5 in the playoffs. Despite not taking any fighting majors in the regular season, Paul has fought four times since the start of the playoffs.
Graham: Do you remember your first fight?
Paul: My first professional fight? Yeah sure, I guess my first fight in the NHL was with a guy called Jim Thomson in 1990. I was in the minors all year, got called up and played one game, and I think he was a call up as well for L.A, and I had a fight with him. He was a lot older, he retired after that year so he’s probably about 45 years old (laughs) I remember he was a really big guy, I was pretty nervous but it went pretty well though.
Graham: Did you ever take any steps to improve as a fighter?
Paul: I took three years of boxing when I was with Calgary when I was younger. One of the directors for the Flames used to call me all the time and he was an older guy who used to coach with the Montreal Canadiens and he thought the boxing would be a good idea. For three summers I took boxing lessons, and I thought it helped me quite a bit. It’s a great cardio workout so it actually helped me train for hockey as well.
Graham: Have you got a set strategy that you use when you fight?
Paul: When I was younger I was probably more aggressive than I am now, but it depends who you fight. When I did leave the NHL I was kinda an average sized guy, the guys these days are much bigger, whereas here I’m one of the bigger guys. If you’re fighting a really big guy, you just know how he fights; you want to change your tactics and not just stand there and throw punch for punch. You wanna try and grapple a bit and get him where you can, but defend yourself at the same time.
Graham: When did you realize that fighting was going to be a major part of your game?
Paul: When I was younger I had some older cousins who played hockey and they were very physical players and I used to go watch them play all the time in Junior and say “Holy Geez”… but they showed me quite a few things and then when I was 15 I went to New-Westminster Bruins camp, probably the toughest team in the WHL, and I had a few fights in training camp. Went fairly well again and I thought, “Jesus this isn’t too bad”. It kinda stuck with me from there.
Graham: Did you have any rivalries in the minors that stuck in your memory?
Paul: Oh yeah, the minors was crazy when I just started. I think I had 27 majors, in my first year in the minors. Every night, or every other night it seemed you were battling with somebody. I dunno if you know the names…. but Gino Odjick, Shawn Antoski……Vancouver had a bunch of tough guys that we had a big rivalry with, when they were down in Milwaukee and I was in Salt Lake. There were a lot of different battles!
Graham: Who was the toughest guy that you faced?
Paul: You know they’re all pretty tough, I mean a fight can go any way on any given night. A guy can get lucky, or a guy might only match up against someone that other guys do better against. For me, thinking back, it was probably Darin Kimble when he was St. Louis. He was runnin’ the league a little bit, and I hit Brett Hull and he (Kimble) came after me and we ended up having a pretty good fight. I think we broke each other’s noses (laughs) by the time it was done.
Graham: Do you remember a night in Buffalo, when you fought Zmolek as Rob Ray was fighting Dennis Bonvie?
Paul: Oh yeah (grins)… yeah
Graham: What are your memories of that night? Some fans still talk about it....
Paul: Yeah, that was kind of a classic moment. It was actually a double knockout, ‘cuz we were fighting at the same time and we knocked them down at the exact same time. It was a strange, strange night…but he came after me while Rob Ray was fighting Dennis Bonvie, but yeah, he came right out after me. It was a strange night!
Graham: Did you ever fight anyone that you were good friends with?
Paul: Oh yeah, definitely. Where I played Junior in the Western League, the majority of the tough guys come from the Western League. I didn’t really have a lot of close friends that I fought but the guys that I’d battled with in Junior, and come up in the ranks with, those are the kinda guys you talked to after the game, or have a beer with. In another couple of weeks you were in the predicament again (fighting them) it makes it a little tougher, but we have a respect for each other and there are no cheap shots. He’s trying just as hard as I’m trying to beat him, so there are no hard feelings.
Graham: Darcy Hordichuk has called you one of the toughest guys that he’s had to face, what’s it like hearing things like that from guys in the NHL nowadays?
Paul: Well it’s good to hear you know, I still remember that, it was just a few years back when he had a great year. He was battling with everybody, just trying to make his name and I was in that position before too, just trying to make it for myself. He came out and asked me to fight, and it was kind of a nothing game and I said “Not right now”, then something had happened on the ice, and he came over and gave me a shot, and actually cut me in the crowd. So the linesmen grabbed us and I said “Well we’re gonna go as soon as I get stitched up so you might as well let us go now” and they let us go to centre and fight. It was a good battle, and I remember hitting him with a couple of pretty good punches, but he wouldn’t go down, he’s a tough kid. He apologized to me after the fight about the shot that he cut me with, which shows a lot for a young guy to do… and for him to say that about me is a great honour.
Graham: Did you know anything about the ISL before you decided to come over?
Paul: I heard a few things from guys, but I didn’t know too much about it. When you hear about hockey in the UK you kinda think, “Geez, I didn’t know that existed” but there was a guy, called Ryan Stewart, he was a first round in Winnipeg and he came over here. We were from the same hometown and he had told me a few things about it so yeah, I was a little familiar with it. Then I heard McSorley (Chris) was in London, and I heard that some of the guys that I used to play with and fight were in London and I thought “What kind of league are they runnin’ over there!?” I heard you were allowed to fight in the UK, so I did hear about it in that regard.
Graham: What’s it like coming here and having so much ice time and maybe taking on a different role to the ones you’ve had previously?
Paul: Well that’s why I’m still playing and that’s what makes it so enjoyable for me, ‘cuz when I was playing in North America I was a fourth line player. Some nights I played three minutes and some nights I might have played nine, but it was usually under than ten-minute mark. It gets frustrating sometimes and you get labelled as a fighter, and that was it as far as a role-player. To come over here is kinda nice ‘cuz I get to play on special teams, penalty kill and powerplay. It’s fun again for me, ‘cuz I missed that for a long time and I was losing touch with the game, but now that I’m over here its great. Last year I had tons of ice time, and we had loads of injuries here in Sheffield and I was on the ice all the time and I just loved it. It was part of my decision to come back this year, and it’s the same, just playing tons and having fun.
Graham: In your fight with Paxton (Schulte) last season, who do you think won?
Paul: Well, I don’t wanna say that I won, ‘cuz Paxton’s a tough guy and I think it went pretty even to tell you the truth. He stood up for himself and I stood up for myself pretty well and it was good.
Graham: You didn’t have any fights in the regular season this year, why do you think that was?
Paul: I’m not sure, I mean I don’t go out looking for it, but if someone is taking advantage of us or rubbing us the wrong way then that’s when I usually go out and try to make my presence felt and make a statement. It hasn’t really called this season, although in some games against Nottingham I wasn’t playing and it was pretty frustrating ‘cuz some of the cheap shots that were going on, and it bugged me a lot. I challenged a few guys during the year and nothing happened but, in the playoffs I’ve had what?
Graham: Four
Paul: Yeah, four fights, and that’s the way it usually goes. Sometimes you go ten games without and all of a sudden you’ll have to fight in the next ten.
Graham: You’ve had a pretty heated rivalry with Jason Clarke (Nottingham) this season and you fought him the other week, so is that the end of that?
Paul: Um yeah, if he keeps his mouth shut you know? He’s one of those guys who likes to talk all the time and that kinda bothers me ‘cuz I’m not a big talker on the ice and I’d rather just fight and get it over with and carry on. There’s no reason to get into any detail of what he says, but I don’t have a lot of respect for him, although at least he did fight me last game. I thought he hung on more than anything, I couldn’t get free or throw any punches and I had bruises on my arms where he had a hold of me.
Graham: You seemed to be laughing or smiling during the fight...
Paul: Yeah (grins)
Graham: Were you taking him seriously?
Paul: No, I wasn’t really. It was the first shift too and it kind caught me a little by surprise but still, he got in there and he got hold of me. I guess I can respect him a little bit for at least fighting me, after Dody Wood had to stick up for him a couple of times. I don’t know if it’s over or not, we might not even play each other again so we’ll see what happens. He’s usually good for a penalty or two against us so we might just have to work with that too.
Graham: What about the fight with Chris Slater (London) this week? What happened there?
Paul: I’m not sure; he just came at me out of nowhere. I think I was trying to go around a d-man, Blanchard I think, and I may have clipped him with my stick which was accidental, and I got the puck along the wall. Then he (Slater) came flying over at me and had his gloves off (laughs) and was swinging at me. I was just kinda going to push him down and then he just missed me with one and got me mad so I dropped my gloves and hit him a few times. You can only have so many fights and then you start getting suspended and fined so I just wanted to be careful about that. It wasn’t really much.
Graham: Is there anyone in the league that you’d like to go toe-to-toe with?
Paul: Nah, not really. If something happens then it happens but I’m not one that says “I’m gonna fight that guy there ‘cuz he’s there and he’s supposed to be tough” It’s not really high on my priority list to be able to say I’m the toughest in the ISL, or to chase guys down to try and prove a point. I think reputation goes quite a way, hopefully players will respect my teammates and me a little more for it, and I won’t have to fight because of it.
Graham: What are your plans for next season or the next few years?
Paul: Um, I’m not sure, you know I wasn’t sure if I was going to play the last year couple of years but I’m still playing. I’m just going to put my name in quite a few places and if something comes about that’s a good situation for my family and myself then I’ll take it. If not then I’ll probably call it quits ‘cuz I don’t know how this league’s progressing. We’ll see what happens.
Graham: Would you consider playing in Belfast next season?
Paul: Yeah, if the salary stayed the same and the calibre stayed the same. I can’t see myself going down in calibre ‘cuz it wouldn’t be enjoyable for me.
Graham: Have you enjoyed your year in Belfast?
Paul: Yeah, it’s actually been great. I had a good time here (Sheffield) last year but I’m having a great time this year, and my family is happy, we’ve got a good place to live. That’s the important part, and it makes it a little better and easier when they’re happy.
Despite being universally recognized as the toughest guy in the ISL, Paul Kruse was as modest and down to earth as any hockey player I've met previously. It was a pleasure to interview a guy with as much NHL experience as Paul and I wish him well with whatever the next few seasons may bring. "Kruser" may be one of the last ex-NHL tough guys that plays in the UK for some time, and will definitely be remembered as one of the toughest to ever play over here. Thanks to the Belfast Giants, in particular Peter Collins, and of course Paul Kruse.
..............
This Q&A was posted on the Web's leading hockey fight site www.hockeyfights.com/ by Graham Smyth
Apr 25, 2003