Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the first of eight installments this year, featuring defenseman Misha Song.
Q: How's Ithaca been treating you so far?
A: Awesome. Everyone's been so nice at school. Just transitioning to college both school-wise and hockey-wise, it's been a great experience so far.
Q: Has it been pretty much as you expected?
A: I guess you could say that. I didn't really have a lot of expectations coming in. I was just open to the experience as a whole, and it's just been eye-opening coming here.
Q: So what would you say has been the biggest surprise for you?
A: I would just say how nice the older guys are on the team; how much they've helped us kind of settle in during the first few weeks here. I thought the transition would be a lot harder, but with them kind of with us every step of the way, it's been great.
Q: What are you studying?
A: I'm currently in the College of Arts and Sciences. I'm undecided as of right now, but I've been leaning toward government or history. I've also been considering economics, or transferring into the hotel school or something like that.
Q: As we like to say, 'Any person, any study.' Is that one of the reasons you chose to come here?
A: Absolutely. There's a wide variety of classes you could take here. There's so much curiosity about the different courses, and you kind of want to take everything – but there's not enough time, so you have to prioritize a little bit. I'm trying to find the most interesting ones and take them.
Q: Anything particularly interesting that you're in now?
A: Yeah, actually there's a government and history one I'm in about the history of exploration. It's about the voyages of the past and even space exploration. All the way from James Cook to the Apollo program. So that's been interesting.
Q: That is interesting. And I wonder if you, as someone
from a different country, would have a different viewpoint of history. Is that how you look at it?
A: I guess since I'm coming from a different background I have multiple perspectives. Maybe that will help me in the class.
Q: So on the hockey side of things, you've traversed quite a road to get here – and so much of it has been documented in all the stories that have been written. Starting to skate in a shopping mall in China with figure skates; falling in love with the game; moving to Canada; going to American prep school; then becoming the first Chinese player to ever be selected in the NHL Entry Draft. At what point did you decide that this was your mission, to be the first China native to play in the NHL?
A: I don't think there was ever a point in time where I thought I was born to do this or something like that. I was just following the passion for the game, which is what every kid does. I definitely didn't start out playing hockey thinking that I was going to play in college, or even move out of the country. I was just kind of taking it step by step, you could say, and just trying to play at the next level. It's been a great journey so far.
Q: I may have jumped a few steps ahead. So we'll go back – you started skating at 6, started playing hockey at 7, then moved to Canada at 10. Did your family move just for hockey?
A: Hockey was definitely the main factor, but also when I was 6 or 7 my parents were always telling me education is one of the most important things you can have in life. Actually, when I was 8 years old my dad told me about this school called Phillips Academy, which I eventually went to. But at the time, we had no plan to go to the U.S. or to even go play in Canada. But hockey in China was pretty bad at the time. So we decided to go to Canada, where hockey is everything. And then from there, we knew that hockey was important, but we also knew that living in North America would eventually give us an opportunity to go to a good school. So school and hockey were the two most important things.
Q: I see. And there was quite a bit of time between when you moved to Ontario and when you landed in a U.S. prep school. Did you go straight from there to Lawrenceville Academy?
A: Yes, I went to Lawrenceville as a sophomore. So I was 15 years old.
Q: So from Canada, there's no shortage of options of where to go with hockey. Was your plan all along to go the school route the whole time?
A: Definitely. When I was 13 or 14, we were starting to look at boarding schools, and it was definitely a big opportunity when I got into Lawrenceville. I loved the school and it had a great reputation. It was an easy decision for me to go down there.
Q: From there, the 2015 NHL draft. You were there in Florida when it happened, so you obviously had a hunch that you would be drafted. The New York Islanders ended up selecting you in the sixth round. How much did things change at that point for you?
A: Definitely a lot. That was a big moment for my family, as well. I think after the draft, I think a lot of things opened up for me hockey-wise. I've just been kind of enjoying the ride and not thinking too much about it, but obviously having this goal in mind to eventually play in the NHL. But right now, it's just about working hard and trying to get better as a hockey player.
Q: But things got so big so quickly. All you have to do is a quick web search and it's everywhere, and it seemed like it happened so quickly after the draft. Did how big it became take you by surprise?
A: Absolutely. I definitely didn't think it was going to get the reaction that it did. I thought I was just going to be another player that was drafted. But it turned out to be a big thing, and it turned out that it coincided with Beijing's bid for the Olympics. I was really lucky, because they invited me down to be part of the team to go bid for the Olympics, which we got. So that was definitely a very cool experience.
Q: So at this point, you have now become the poster child for hockey in China. And it seems that you've really embraced that. Has there been a point when you've felt pressured by all of this?
A: I think there's definitely been a good amount of pressure from a lot of people after the draft. First of all, a lot of people don't know about the whole process of how the draft works, about how college hockey and how the NHL works. So a lot of people are asking me, 'why aren't you in the NHL yet? Why aren't you playing for the Islanders?' That wasn't the pressure, I guess, but it was just the people waiting for me to make the jump (to the NHL) pretty much immediately, which I obviously couldn't do. But then after that, it just kind of allowed the expectation of me being there, about me knowing that there's a long road ahead and there's a lot of work to do can add up to a lot of pressure. But at the same time, I feel like it's good motivation for me to keep pushing ahead and having this goal of eventually playing in the NHL.
Q: So from Lawrenceville, you go to Phillips for a post-grad year, and then the next two years in the USHL with the Madison Capitols. At any point, did it look like it was going to be too much work?
A: It was a tough transition for me going from boarding school to the USHL. We had a lot of good players on the team, so it was hard for me to find playing time my first year. But I think I definitely learned a lot from being in Madison and playing against really good players. I think I took a lot from that experience, but I definitely think I didn't do as well as I had hoped.
Q: So what kind of a player are you?
A: I think I'm a two-way defenseman and I think I make quick, easy plays; simple plays to help advance zones and help my team transition. In the D-zone, I'm not overly physical, so I have to use my stick to disrupt plays. And then I'm a join-the-rush, not lead-the-rush kind of guy. I like to move the puck to the forwards and then join.
Q: So then what do you think you need to do to get better then?
A: I think there are a lot of areas where I can improve. Obviously, transitioning to college hockey where there's a faster pace, playing against a lot stronger players. So getting used to that pace of play will probably be key to playing here. And then just getting better – getting stronger and working on my skills.
Q: It seems like some NHL teams are very hands-on with their draft picks through college and some others might not even talk to you at all during the year. What has your experience been like with the Islanders?
A: They're very good with keeping in touch during the season. I'll talk to them about how I'm playing, and they'll give me some feedback. But they're hands-off in terms of changing the style of what you should be doing on the ice, so they're not contradicting a coach or anything like that. They've just been like a third party there to support me. They've been unreal with that.
Q: So are you still pretty happy with this whole process so far?
A: Definitely, for sure. It's been a long road getting here, but I'm really happy I'm here. I'm just excited to work and find my place on the team, whether it's playing or kind of
supporting others and being a good teammate and a good guy in the locker room. Anything to help the team win is what I'm prepared to do.
