 Goaltender Justin Peters is this week's player in “Breaking the Ice with…” The feature will be a season long series on plymouthwhalers.com and showcase a different Whaler each week so we can get to know them better.
Selected in the 2nd round (38th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2004 NHL Draft, Peters was acquired from the Toronto St. Michael's Majors on December 9 for Ryan Nie and Steve Spade. On March 30, 2004, Peters became only the 2nd goalie in league history to score a playoff goal (Whalers' Fred Braithwaite, 1993). Now in his fourth season in the OHL, Peters took a few minutes before the holiday break to help us break the ice. » On the greatest lesson he has learned from hockey… “Greatest lesson, I guess, just that everyone gets their chance. It’s not always going to be easy. You've got to keep working hard. Not everyone has an easy road. Sometimes working hard, the hard work will pay off.” » On how he started playing hockey… “I started playing hockey when I was 5 in my hometown Blyth and then I switched to goalie when I was in novice and I have been a goalie ever since.” » On who has influenced him the most in hockey… “My parents, both my mom and my dad have really guided me, helped me. They, first of all, put me into hockey and then when the going gets tough through the season, they are the ones that I talk to.” » On if he has ever represented his country… “I represented Team Ontario at the Canada Games. I played along with Evan Brophey and we won the bronze medal.” é On his youth hockey highlight… “Playing AAA growing up, my draft year I was playing with my Huron-Perth Lakers, Midget Bantam team. We won our league and went to the OHL Cup.”  » On his most memorable game… “My most memorable game, Game 7 of the first round playoffs against the Sudbury Wolves my second year when I scored a goal. We won, we beat Sudbury 5-2, and we won the series.” » On scoring a goal… “It was pretty exciting. Obviously, I didn’t expect to score a goal, but when I did, I didn’t really know how to celebrate or how to react. I didn’t really know how to control myself after. It was a pretty cool thing.” » On his most embarrassing hockey moment… “I don’t know if I have one. I don’t really have an embarrassing moment yet.” » On his best hockey moment… “Best hockey moment would be my first game, I guess, starting my first game when I was with St. Mike’s.” » On getting drafted… “It was pretty exciting for myself and my family. I didn’t really know what team I was going to get drafted to. I hoped to get drafted, but I didn’t know really what round or what team it was going to be, so it was really exciting when I got drafted.” » On the NHL camps… ”Rookie camp was in Ottawa and it was a mini tournament with a bunch of teams there. It was five days long and then I went on to main camp. It was awesome. It was right in Carolina at the RBC Center at their main arena. Just being around the NHL players was a cool experience.”  » On the Top Prospects game… “It was an honor to get selected to that, meaning I think I was the fourth rated goalie for the draft at that time. It was a cool experience as well. Bobby Orr was my coach for that, so I got to meet him and the players around the league.” » On the trade process… “Well, I asked to get traded out of St. Mike’s. It was time for me to move on. I had been there for three years, this was my fourth season there. I just needed a change of scenery. Thankfully, Plymouth stepped up and traded for me and I got a call at 10 in the morning and I showed up here in Plymouth that night at 8 o’clock. So it was pretty fast and a pretty emotional day.” » On adjusting to a new team and billets… “Like I said, it was pretty emotional leaving my billets and leaving my teammates that I had been teammates with for so long. It was tough to say good-bye, but it was something that I feel was in the best interest of myself. I’m moving in with my billets tonight (12/13), I was staying with John Armstrong. The people here seem really nice.” » On the differences between Toronto and Plymouth… “Well, in Toronto, there’s so many people there and there’s so many sports, it’s tough for the fans to know much about St. Mike’s. We compete with the Raptors, the Leafs, the Jays, the Argos. Coming to Plymouth here, it seems like a nice arena obviously and the fans have been great to me so far and hopefully I can get to know the city a lot better.” » On his pre-game routine… “I wake up in the morning, have some breakfast, usually I wake up around 9 o’clock. So I have some breakfast then do something like go for a walk or hang out, have lunch around 12, have a nap, wake up at 4:30, have a snack, and then come to the rink.” » On the player he admires and tries to model his game after… “Patrick Roy.” » On if there is anything behind his jersey number… “No, just ever since I was a goalie I have been #1.” » On his nicknames… “Petey, Peters, Pete Dawg.”  » On if he has any superstitions…
“No, I’m not superstitious.” » On the toughest player he has played against… “Probably Patrick O’Sullivan in the OHL.” » On shootouts… “Personally, I don’t like the shootout. I think it’s a tough way to lose, a great way to win obviously. When you lose, it’s not fun. I have lost here in Plymouth when I was with St. Mike’s. It’s a tough way to lose, but it’s great for the fans.” » On if he fits the "crazy goalie" mold… “I don’t know whether I am crazy, I just think I’m another player. I don’t think I’m a crazy goalie like most, but the players might feel a little differently.” » On what he would be if he didn't play hockey… “I don’t know, I’m not sure what I was going to do. I was thinking about going to school for broadcasting, but other than that I’m not really sure. I hope hockey works out.” » On his school plans… “I plan on going to school second semester somewhere, but I haven’t really had the chance to talk to the coaches about it.” » On what he brings to the team… “I feel I can bring to this team some leadership in the dressing room. I have been to the playoffs, I have some experience, so hopefully I can do my best to just help this team get to the next level.” » On the craziest thing that has happened on the road… “Craziest thing, my bus broke down. When I was with St. Mike’s my first season, we were on our way home from Sault Ste. Marie. Our bus broke down at 1 in the morning and we sat on the side of the road until 5. We were between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie and the taxis had to come pick us up and take us back to the hotel in Sudbury. We stayed the night in Sudbury until 10 the next morning and we finally got our bus fixed and drove back to Toronto.”  » On his mask…
“On my mask, I have an ‘M’ from the Majors, obviously, with wings on it flying over, it’s supposed to be over Toronto. I used to have a Toronto skyline on my other mask, so when I added the ‘M’ I kept that, I really liked that. There’s just shooting clovers over it. St. Mike’s had clovers on the shoulders of their jerseys. Hopefully, I can get that switched up to a Plymouth Whaler.” » On the rule changes in hockey… “The rule changes have been pretty good. They really opened up the game, there’s a lot more scoring chances. As far as playing the puck in the trapezoid behind the net, it seems that goalies are adjusting. I adjusted to it pretty well. If it’s going to make the game better, I’m all for it.” » On what reality show he would be on… “Survivor I’d say, I’d like to be on a Survivor show. Just someone that works hard and wins, a winning character.” » On what other five players he would want on the ice with him… “Five players ever, I’d just pick the Plymouth Whalers, no certain players, just the Plymouth Whalers. That’s a politically correct answer.” -Natalie Shaver, December 20, 2005- -- Other Players' "Breaking the Ice" Features -- | 
