Zach Bogosian Blogs Again

The life of an NHL player can get pretty hectic, even during the offseason. Now that life has settled down for him a little bit I cornered Zach Bogosian and pretty much forced him to put together a blog entry about his time at the World Championship in Switzerland and his summer so far. Here is what he had to say:

Playing over in Europe was a really good experience. It was a lot different than the NHL. It’s a totally different lifestyle over there. First when you have to get used to the time change, and takes a little while. The ice size is different. The food is different. It took some adjusting. It was a good experience though. I didn’t get to play as much as I would have liked to, but it was good to be over there and see how a big international tournament goes. When it comes to ice time, the coaching staff told me to take what was given to me and I thought I did okay with the time I got. It was my first international event and being 18 it was to be expected. I knew what the plan was. It wasn’t like they told me I’d get a lot of playing time and then they didn’t play me. I was prepared for it and I knew it would be hard to get ice time. It was great to have so many Thrashers teammates with me over there. Colin Stuart and Ron Hainsey were on the team with me, and then Kovy was just incredible for Russia.

The most impressive thing about tournament was that everyone was all skill. The fourth line was a skilled line on almost every team. There were no crash and bang lines. Everyone was good top to bottom, all through the lines. The bigger ice was a little different too because it had been so long since I’d played on it. It might have benefited me a little bit though because I like to skate with the puck so much. It gave me some more time and space to do my thing.

The first real tournament game against Latvia was probably the highlight. Their fans are known for being pretty crazy and they lived up to it. It was a pretty good back and forth game that we ended up winning 4-2 and it was a lot of fun.

Away from the rink my dad and I got to look around Zurich and Bern. It was my first trip to Europe and it was for him to be able go too. We got to see the Alps and that was really cool. My dad had a chance to go to Einstein’s apartment when I was busy, and he really liked that. Walking around downtown was incredible- when you walk out your hotel door and the Alps are right in front of you. It was pretty amazing. We took a train up to the mountains and then there was a 50 minute gondola ride up to the top. The view was amazing.

Overall it was really cool to play for Team USA. I’d gone to development camps but never played in an international event, so that was really special. Just being able to pull on your country’s jersey and go out there felt really good. I kept the jersey and I’ll probably hang it up with my other jerseys from the Thrashers.

After I got back I went to the Barbados for about a week just to relax and unwind, and that was awesome. We swam with giant sea turtles and just kicked back by the beach and relaxed. Once I got home to Massena I took a couple days and then started working out again to get ready for next season.

I built a gym at home at my parents place, so that has been really nice to have. I used to drive about 90 minutes each way to Ottawa to work out and now I can just do it at home. It’s so much easier. My trainer from Ottawa, Lorne Goldenberg, designed the gym for me, so I have everything I need- all sorts of squat racks and Keiser machines. I put a lot of money into it but it’s worth it since conditioning is so important in the NHL now. You have to stay in shape all summer and be ready to go as soon as camp starts and I can’t wait to get back on the ice.

Until then I’m enjoying spending some time around home and catching up with friends. It’s kind of strange since I was playing in the NHL and they just finished up high school, but nothing has really changed. My hometown has been really supportive since I’ve been home and it’s cool going into local sports bars and restaurants and seeing my picture hanging on the wall. I’ve been able to help out with some local fundraisers and it’s really nice knowing I’m in a position to give back to a community that’s been so good to me. My parents always raised us to help other people out when we could and now I have the chance to do that. It’s a lot of fun, especially when it means playing in charity golf tournaments. I have a few of those coming up later this summer.

Next up though is a trip back to Atlanta for youth hockey camp and the draft party. I went to hockey camps as a kid and it’s always fun to get out on the ice and help the next group of players coming up. It’s great to see kids excited about hockey in Georgia too. Hopefully I’ll see a lot of you at the draft party. I here it was a lot of fun last year.

Zach