AHL: QA with James Neal

An early second-round pick of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, expectations were high for left-winger James Neal to make a strong push to crack the Dallas Stars lineup. The 20-year-old currently finds himself with Stars' AHL affiliate, the Iowa Stars. Neal did not light the world on the fire to start the 2007-08 season, but he has shown steady progress over the first few weeks of the season and is now solidly among Iowa's top-nine forwards. McKeen's recently had the opportunity to talk with Neal and discussed his adjustment to the AHL, his game as a power forward, his time with the Plymouth Whalers, winning gold for Team Canada, mentorship from Dallas and Iowa veterans, and the development of fellow Neal prospects.

McKeen's: You had a successful major junior career, but now you are in the AHL. What are some of the adjustments you have had to make this year?

Neal: Things are different, obviously, coming into being a professional hockey player. I just wanted to start off on Dallas on a good foot and, obviously, you go in trying to make a spot in the National Hockey League, but I'm still young and we're doing alright here. Things are different with the systems and stuff. In major junior you get accustomed to a team where I had played for three years and accustomed to a coach and you get kind of back to square to one, but you get through things like that. Dave Allison and Paul Jerrard have been good with me; so, I just have to keep going here.

McKeen's: You alluded to this a little bit already, but there were a lot of Dallas fans who, because you were a high second round pick, had certain expectations of you, rightly or wrongly. Did you have the same expectation of yourself to make the Dallas roster?

Neal: Yeah, I went into camp wanting to get a spot on the roster but like I said, I'm still young…just try and develop here in Iowa and maybe make the step and hopefully get called up or something like that. But, you know, I've got to worry about the task at hand and that's here. I've just got to keep doing the little things and get better each day.

McKeen's: You alluded to this a bit too, but tell me a little more about the differences between AHL hockey both on and off the ice, and major juniors.

Neal: Yeah, in juniors you're with a family and they do all your cleaning and your cooking and stuff like that, so it's just like your family back home. Here, you're living on your own and you're making your own meals and you're doing your own thing. So, things are a little different there, but I've got a good roommate in Marty Sertich, he and I live together. He's pretty good. He cooks a lot of meals. I'm not too big on the cooking side, but he helps me out. Definitely, things are different living on your own.

McKeen's: Has the caliber of play in the American Hockey League surprised you or exceeded your expectations?

Neal: Yeah, it's obviously different, but you've got to get used to that and if you want to be at the next level, you've got to adjust to the speed. The systems are different and things are different that way, but I'm adjusting alright, I think. Like I said, I've just got to try to keep getting better each day and hopefully be a good player here in the American League.

McKeen's: It seems that you look much more confident on the ice now, compared to your play in October. Is that accurate and if so, what has led to that?

Neal: The coaching staff has helped me out a lot. It's been a big jump, but I think it's like that for any young kid coming in. You've just got to take it each day and the coaching staff has been good, but I feel a lot better on the ice. I'm adjusting to the system more and more each day and I feel a lot more confident.

McKeen's: How important is forechecking to your game?

Neal: I try to get in there and get in on the forecheck and play a physical style of game and try to put the puck in the net as well. I just try and play a power forward role and get in there and create offense.

McKeen's: I have noticed on the forecheck that compared to other AHL players I have watched, you are one of the few that will forecheck equally as hard on the goaltender, if he is playing it in the trapezoid. You do not get a penalty, but you play them hard. Has someone encouraged you to do that or is just something you do?

Neal: It's something I do. I try and get in there and sometimes the goalies get a little comfortable back there and they like to hold onto the puck, so I just try to put pressure on everyone I can and sometimes the goalie comes in and catches the puck and I still go hard at him.

McKeen's: It seems like in the past couple weeks that your forechecking efforts have been resulting in many more dangerous chances and a couple of goals and assists have resulted. Tell me a bit about that.

Neal: Yeah. Like I said, I'm getting more comfortable here and you're allowed to do more things, but I'm playing with good guys. I've been playing with Marius Holtet and a younger guy like Tommy Wandell, and Marty Sertich, and guys like that. They've been around a little bit and they help you out. They can give good passes to you and you can just feed off them and they feed off you. So, it's been good.

McKeen's: I have also noticed times when coach Allison will put three of you youngsters out together on a line. What sort of confidence boost does that give you guys?

Neal: Yeah, if you play defensively and you work hard each day in practice and you get better, he's going to get more and more confidence in you. He gives you a chance out there and we accept that role and we've got to feed off that and we've got to build together. We talk a little bit in the dressing room, the young guys, and we do a lot of stuff together. So, when we get the chance we've got to make good out of it.

McKeen's: If I am watching James Neal from the press box, what are some of the keys and signs I need to look for so that I know that you are on your game?

Neal: I just try to be a physical player and get in there and create offense and get the puck and make little moves around the net and put the puck in.

McKeen's: Are there any particular things, as far as skill set that you are really working on hard here in the AHL, so that you can make that jump to the NHL?

Neal: Yeah, I'm trying to get quicker. Speed kills. A prime example of that is Chris Conner. He's real fast and I know he's doing great up there. But no, I just try to stick to little things and get quicker and just being able to jump out of the zone quick with getting the puck on the wall. Stuff like that, a quicker shot; those are all little things when you go to the next level that you see. Guys are a lot quicker, they shoot harder and faster, and you've got to do that to beat the goalies these days.

McKeen's: On the flipside, what do you currently feel are some of the strengths of your game?

Neal: Like I said, I just try to be a physical guy. I'm 6-foot-3, over 200 pounds, so I've got to get in on the forecheck and coach Allison is on me to play a physical role and try and be an energy guy but like I said, also be able to put the puck in the net and have some hands around the net.

McKeen's: If coach Allison were to start giving you a little more powerplay time, what sort of role do you think you would see on the powerplay? Would you be a presence in front?

Neal: Yeah, it would be the guy in front. It would be like I said, try and be good around the net there and tip point shots and stuff like that.

McKeen's: It looks like something the team could use. I am waiting to see when he gives you a shot there. [Note: Neal has since started to see some powerplay time with Iowa] Going back to your junior days with Plymouth, you won the OHL championship and went to the Memorial Cup last year. Tell me a bit about that experience.

Neal: Yeah, that was a great experience for me. I was there my whole junior career and I have a lot of good friends there and the coaching staff and the organization was great. But I started in Dallas and I had a good camp in Dallas and signed a contract with Dallas and was sent back to junior and started off a little rough and then started getting going. I had a lot of confidence, the team was doing well, I had great guys playing around me, like with Evan Brophey who's here in the American Hockey League in Rockford, and then Jared Boll, who's in Columbus, and those were two good guys that I played around. That made it a lot easier for me. Things went great and then I got an opportunity to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and was fortunate enough to win a gold medal there and that's something I'll never forget and it was something really special. Then, going back into Plymouth, I got hit and I hurt my knee and I had to have surgery on my knee, so I was out until playoffs. I was hungry to get back and came back for the playoffs and we had a great run and obviously, won the Ontario Hockey League championship, which was something great to do when you're topping your OHL career off with a win like that. And then going to the Memorial Cup was something that I'll never forget and it was a great experience.

McKeen's: You mentioned your time with Team Canada, and you also played for them on the U18 team. What were some of the things you learned from those experiences and how was it to represent your country?

Neal: It's always something special representing your country. It's so big in Canada, everyone gets up for the World Junior Championships. I went to the camp in Calgary for Team Canada, just went in there with a good attitude and I tried to be an energy guy and play physical and add some scoring, but I was more of an energy guy. I was lucky enough to win a spot over and it's something unbelievable, to put a Team Canada jersey on and go out and represent your country like I did.

McKeen's: Were there any little things that you were able to learn through the summer camps or the training camp before the WJCs?

Neal: You've just got to go in and you've got to work hard and listen to what they have to say and what they want and you've got to play a role, you've got to adapt to things. You've just got to learn from that. It's a long haul, you've got to wakeup and try to get better every day. It's quick learning, because you're playing with guys that you've never played before, so you've got to adapt to that right away. I think we did a good of job of that and obviously, it showed in the result.

McKeen's: Yes, the gold medal proves it. In the development camps and the training camps in Dallas and including here in Iowa, who have been some of the Dallas Stars and Iowa Stars that have helped you in your adjustments to pro hockey?

Neal: Trevor Daley was a great help. I lived with him in the summer and trained with him, so he's been a really good help for me. I see what he does and what he has to do to stay at the pro level. He's not too far from me in my hometown. He's lives in Toronto, I'm in Whitby, so we're pretty close. He was great for me in the summer, he let me stay right with him, right in his house. I trained every day in Dallas, so it was good. Back here, I live with Marty. He's great, and then Toby Petersen's obviously a great leader. I talk to him a lot and he's got some great pro experience. You just learn from guys like that. Guys come to the rink prepared and ready to go each day. That may be a little different from junior, but guys will learn that, guys are still young. But, it's been an adjustment and now I think I'm doing alright and getting more comfortable each day.

McKeen's: Who are some of your Iowa Star teammates that have impressed you so far?

Neal: Toby Petersen, in camp, I didn't really know much about him. I had no idea who he was and he catches your eye. Chris Conner was great in camp. It's good to see him be able to make the jump. They're two classy guys. They help you out and they're to be around. Marty Sertich is good, I get to be with him everyday, whether it's at home or at the rink, I see those guys. Junior Lessard…you can go down the list with Nolan Baumgartner and guys, but we've got a good group of guys in there and it's fun to come to the rink each day.

McKeen's: Also, with some of the younger guys from the developmental camp, who are some of your fellow Dallas prospects that have impressed you?

Neal: Well, my brother, actually (smiles). He's in Dallas. There's a couple guys that are there and that are coming up through the ranks, with Lindgren and Wandell being here, who were also at the development camp. You kind of stick with those guys because you're with them each day, you see them each day in practice.

McKeen's: You mentioned your brother Michael. What is it like to have your brother in the same organization with you and tell me a little bit about Michael's game?

Neal: Yeah, he was fortunate enough to get drafted by Dallas, too. It was a good day, on draft day, when he got his name sent there on the computer and we were all sitting around and he was drafted by Dallas. But, he plays a similar style to me. He's about the same size. We compete in the summer, we work out together and stuff like that. He's competitive and he plays a power forward style, and he's decent around the net, and he's a big body, and he throws his body around pretty good.

McKeen's: I guess that makes it a little easier for the parents, too.

Neal: Yeah, that's right. I've got three brothers and a sister, and I'm the oldest, and then my brother that's younger, two years younger than Michael, (Peter) was just drafted by the Plymouth Whalers, too, in the Ontario Hockey League. So, my brothers are coming up and it's good to see. It's fun to see that they're doing well.

McKeen's: Yes, you could end up the Dallas version of the Staal's.

Neal: (Chuckles).