Hurricanes bet on Jackson Blake; he plans to repay them

RALEIGH, N.C.

Jackson Blake wont cash in on his new contract a whopping eight-year, $45 million extension until next year when the deal kicks in, but he did buy himself a gift: a boat to use on the lakes in his native Minnesota.

He is admittedly not much of a fisherman, but the congratulatory purchase still got plenty of play this summer, mostly for water skiing.

Advertisement But dont confuse Blakes summer in the sun and water for time off following a breakthrough first professional season, during which he scored 17 goals and totaled 34 points after winning a job out of training camp.

His spot in the lineup this year is guaranteed, but Blake still spent the offseason and the lead-up to training camp preparing to take the next step in his career.

That will include living up to the big deal that along with some other long-term contracts handed out to players with under 100 games of NHL experience raised eyebrows and shifts his goal from fighting to make the roster to proving hes worthy of the commitment the Hurricanes made to him.

Blake spent time last week answering some questions about his offseason, his new contract, the grind of the NHL season, his introduction to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and whats ahead for the 22-year-old who is now a core piece of Carolinas present and future.

Some questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Obviously, expectations change with a big contract.

Last year was about making the team and making an impression, and now expectations change.

How do you handle the weight of that? I feel like with the contract or not, there are always expectations when youre playing anywhere.

I dont know if they change for me.

I think, for me, Ive always wanted to strive to be the best I can be, and whether I have the contract or not is not going to determine that.

But I feel like it gives me a little more freedom and gives me a little more confidence in my game to allow me to play to that ability.

Were you surprised at all? This all happened so fast.

If you would have told me this a year ago, I probably would have told you no way.

But, yeah, it was kind of crazy after only playing 80 regular-season games and the playoff games.

Im very grateful for them to trust in me that much after only seeing so much and giving me this opportunity.

I know Ive only been here for a year, but I do love it here, and its an amazing spot to play and to live.

Advertisement Between your deal and Chicagos contract with Frank Nazar, some are like, Oh, these guys have only played a year.

There are some people who are surprised.

Have you heard that noise at all? I dont blame them for being surprised, right? But I think its more taking a chance on guys like us, I would say, and realizing that I mean, Franks younger than me but realizing that were still pretty young.

And I dont think Im close to where I want to be, and Im sure the same goes for him, too.

It is probably crazy to some people to see this, but I think its good for both sides.

Whats the biggest thing you learned last year? I know Ive said it before, but the season is extremely long.

Its longer than any season Ive been a part of.

But youve got to enjoy it because its going to go by quick and, snap of a finger, youll be in year five or six or 10 or whatever.

But I think just enjoy it and take care of yourself; take care of your body because it is a grind.

How did you apply that to this offseason? Im sure your body felt a lot different at the end of last year than its ever felt.

Last season, I really wanted to make the team, obviously, and I still was grinding in the weight room this year and doing the same stuff I did last year and trying to get better at all the things, all the testing and stuff like that.

This offseason, I knew that youre going to skate a lot (during the season).

So I didnt skate as much as I would have last offseason.

I still got on the ice two times a week and stuff like that.

But last summer I was skating like four or five.

And I think, honestly, when I was doing that in July it doesnt burn you out, but youre like, Wow, its been a long time.

So this year, I kind of took those two weeks off when I got home and just started working out right away, and then I didnt skate as much as I did last year.

But I feel the same, and Im excited for it to get going more now.

Advertisement How eye-opening were the playoffs for you? I mean, its unbelievable.

Its a lot of fun, obviously.

But when youre playing the same team five or six times, or whatever it is, its tough.

Its really tough.

I know they do it in basketball too, but I think hockey is the hardest sport to win the championship.

And to win the Stanley Cup, I think, is the hardest thing to win.

People have said that my dad (former NHLer Jason Blake) told me that and now I can truly understand that it definitely is.

Its unbelievable how big of a grind it is, but its so fun.

To walk out there and see the towels waving around and stuff, its exciting.

So hopefully we can get back there and get it done this year.

Was the postseason frustrating at all for you, or do you just look at it as a learning experience? I feel like it was, especially playing Florida, just really frustrating.

I think they were so good, and it was so hard to play against them.

Even Washington and New Jersey too; we played three really good teams, and thats how it is in the playoffs, right? So it does get a little frustrating playing the same team five or six times in a row.

They know your tendencies, and you kind of know theirs, too.

Definitely things happen so fast in the playoffs, and the game speed goes up a little bit and everyones trying to, not kill you, but theyre trying to hit you as hard as they can, right? But its a good learning curve, too, for me last year to kind of get one year under my belt.

I think the whole year was a good experience for me to kind of test it out and see what its all about.

And then hopefully this year, just take off.

Was that first offseason of seeing guys come and go weird at all? In college, you get new freshmen every year and your seniors are gone.

Its even crazier here because you have that long season with those guys.

And (Brent) Burns specifically like, he took me in.

He was really good to me and taught me a lot, obviously.

Hes been playing forever, so it sucks to see guys like him and (Jack Roslovic) and all these guys leave.

But I know thats just part of the business side, and everyone has accepted that.

But it is definitely weird to have new guys coming in and new faces and the guys who have left just not be here anymore, it is kind of crazy.

Are you looking forward to playing against those guys? Im not looking forward to playing against Burnzie.

Hes a big boy; hes not fun to play against.

His stick is like nine feet long too.

But yeah, its good.

Im sure hell be excited to play against us.

KAndre Miller was with the Rangers, so you became a little familiar with him last season.

What were your thoughts playing against him and now having him on your team? Hes from Minnesota, like Minnetonka, and Im from Eden Prairie, so theyre kind of right next to each other.

Hes a little older than me, but Ive seen him growing up and seen what hes all about.

And obviously in New York, he was really good.

And to get a player like that, its unbelievable, and I think itll be a big help for us.

Advertisement What does your father think about where you are now with the contract and everything? It was definitely an exciting day.

That day was a lot of fun to get that done.

He was pretty emotional because he knows how it is and to do that.

And hes been through it, and he was really excited.

He knows now that youve got to put it into a whole other gear, right? And its definitely cool to kind of follow in his footsteps a little bit and have a similar path by playing high school and then playing in the USHL, then playing college.

And to do this at 22 years old he was like 25 when he entered the league.

So hes really proud, and hes been a big help to me, probably the biggest helper in my whole career.

So it was very emotional and it was really exciting.

But its over now.

Ive just got to get back to work, and he knows that too.

He overcame a lot as an undrafted guy and you were a mid-round pick, so its not like youre getting top billing when you come into camp or when you show up at prospect tournaments.

Has it helped that he had to scratch and claw his way into the league, and did he instill that in you? He had it way harder than me, right? He played a senior year of high school and then played two years in juniors.

I didnt have to miss a year.

I just went from high school to college.

So he had it really hard.

I look at my story to be hard, but what he did is probably twice as hard, right? Hes 5-(foot-)8; it was unknown to play in the league at 5-8 back in the day, and now its a little different where its turned a little bit more into a skilled league versus a ground-and-pound league.

I look at his story and I try to implement it a little bit into mine, and it doesnt really matter.

I kind of knew that after I was drafted, too: It doesnt matter.

Im only 18.

Well see what happens in two or three years, right? And here we are.

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