June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nOn Celebrini calling him after he got drafted\u2026<\/p>\n
It was pretty cool. Macklin called me too, and talked to me, and welcomed me to the organization. Anytime you hear from a player like that, and with all he\u2019s accomplished and achieved in such a short time in his career, it was incredible. You get a little starstruck, you\u2019ve been watching this guy, you see him in 2024 in Vegas get drafted, and you see him playing in the NHL, and you get a little bit starstruck.<\/p>\n
On hearing his name called\u2026<\/p>\n
Pure excitement of watching all those guys and watching guys you played with, and see them get drafted. Super excited for them to see where they land and see where their journey begins for them, super cool to see them. And then finally, hearing your name called is pretty surreal. It\u2019s a special moment, and obviously getting drafted by such a great organization was special and couldn\u2019t be more happy to celebrate with my family.<\/p>\n
On what he wants to do next season, play for the San Jose Sharks or return to North Dakota\u2026<\/p>\n
There\u2019s two incredible options. It\u2019s hard to turn down both. North Dakota, which is an incredible place, will be an incredible team next year, and super excited to meet those guys and see the type of group we\u2019ll have. And then you have a chance to play pro, and with such an incredible team and a team with so many young, skilled hockey players, and even with those older guys, too, that give you a bit of leadership. Excited to be able to learn from them and see them, but there\u2019s so many options, and it\u2019s hard to say which one\u2019s better.<\/p>\n
On the Sharks having so many NCAA prospects\u2026<\/p>\n
It\u2019s exciting to see that. I [will] never regret my decision to go to North Dakota. It was a special year, and the players I had around me, and to be in North Dakota was a special place. I was super happy with my decision. The support we had there and development I had this year was incredible. It was special, and so it\u2019s definitely a little bit reaffirming..<\/p>\n
On his takeways from playing against older players in the NCAA this season\u2026<\/p>\n
Just learning how to play against those older guys. It was competitive, it was hard, it was fun. Especially being around the older guys as well, learning from them, learning how they carry themselves on the ice, stuff like that. Being around those guys was super helpful for me this year, just competing with them in practice and in games, it was fun, and it was hard, and you got to be able to build that grit to another level.<\/p>\n
On which of his skills will translate to the NHL and which need more work\u2026<\/p>\n
All areas are going to need work, and it\u2019s just the start here. So getting to work and putting the work in is going to be exciting, but definitely being able to use my size, my compete level \u2013 that\u2019s my one consistent thing every single night. I know there\u2019s going to be ups and downs throughout the season, and even throughout games, there\u2019s going to be ups and downs, but the one thing I can bring consistently to every single game is my compete level, and that\u2019s the controllable I can bring.<\/p>\n
Then also my skating, too, is something I want to work on, and have been super excited to get back at. But that\u2019s something I think has definitely improved, and excited to keep working at it.<\/p>\n
On his cousins, NHL players Colton and Kirby Dach\u2026<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve been huge for me too. Growing up with them, being competitive with them, whether it\u2019s on the ice or in the gym, they\u2019ve pushed me so much. To have them in my corner has been super special. They\u2019re here tonight, and having them cheer me on and being around them for the past couple of years, it\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n
We play a bit of everything, we\u2019re pretty active. We play a lot of ping pong too. We\u2019ll play anything, really. It gets competitive, no matter what it is. But the three of us have been pretty close. Colton was a little closer to me in age. He was five years older than me, so he was always a little more rough, and I think that built my toughness up, for sure. He would always bully me around a bit, and I couldn\u2019t be more thankful for both of them.<\/p>\n
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