AHL: QA with Justin Falk

Cut from a high-level team as a 15-year-old? Don't worry, you just may still end up a legitimate NHL prospect with determination and hard work. That's part of the story for Minnesota Wild prospect defenseman Justin Falk. Cut from a midget AAA team, Falk played a year of Canadian high school hockey, then went to Tier II junior A, then to a successful major junior career that resulted in a fourth-round selection by Minnesota in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Falk capped that season with a Memorial Cup and the recognition of being named to the Memorial Cup All-Tournament Team, to a spot in the AHL as a 20-year-old. In 2008-09, Falk isn't putting up much in the way of numbers with the Houston Aeros, but the 6-foot-5, 215-pound blueliner is making a big impression as a future stay-at-home defenseman for the Wild.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey recently had the opportunity to talk with Falk. The young defenseman discussed such topics as his rookie pro season in the AHL, winning the Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs, his development in major juniors, his jump from high school hockey to Tier II junior A hockey, his youth hockey around Snow Flake, Manitoba, and some of the NHL defensemen he looks up to.

McKeen's: You ended your major junior career on about as high of a note as you possibly could, but now you're in your first year of AHL hockey in 2008-09. How do you feel your rookie-pro season is going so far and what have been some of the biggest adjustments for you coming out of major juniors?

Falk: Well, last year was, like you said, quite the year and a year to remember. I'm quite privileged to have experienced that. It was a long, hard effort and well-deserved, but working hard through the summer, coming to camp, and I was forced to earn a spot here, which I had a good camp and did. The year so far here has been good personally and, as a team, a little bit inconsistent and up-and-down, but we're picking it up here as of late. Hopefully it'll carry on the rest of the year.

McKeen's: You played in the WHL in major juniors, which has a fair geographic expanse from Portland, up to Prince George and Prince Albert, and all the way to Brandon, Manitoba. So, how does the travel in the AHL's Western Conference compare to that in the WHL?

Falk: Well, despite getting up for those early flights, I prefer the three-hour plane ride over an eight-hour bus ride any day. The travel like that is good. We usually get in a day in advance or the day of, but it gives you plenty of time to grab a nap and really doesn't change your routine at all. For the most part, it's been good.

McKeen's: As an '88, and you touched on this a bit, you could have played another year of major juniors, but it was obviously decided that you'd turn pro this season. Was there ever any doubt that you'd be playing at the professional level this year and when was that decision made?

Falk: I don't want to say there was any doubt, I just had to put my mind to it as something that I wanted really bad, to move up to the next level. Like I said, a long, long hard summer of training, and camp went really well, and I hung around for a while, and so they decided and told me that they wanted me to develop in Houston, that I was ready to move up. So, they signed me on October 2, there, and I got in my first exhibition game there against Columbus on the third, the day after, so it couldn't have went any better.

McKeen's: When the Wild assigned you to Houston, what did they tell you and what were the areas that they wanted you to work on the most?

Falk: It's just a learning stage to really take in the speed of the game and to develop my play physically and my puck movement and skating abilities. My key asset is my size here, where I can help the team out the most.

McKeen's: With the skating, were there any particulars that they wanted you to work on?

Falk: Well, obviously anybody can become a better skater. I'd like to work on my edges, my pivoting, and my first few steps to take off can be a little bit quicker to help me benefit. So, I want to keep working hard to make that jump to the NHL.

McKeen's: On the flipside, you obviously have some strengths to your game, too. So, what would you say are the strengths of your game and what style would you say you play?

Falk: Well, I'm a big stay-at-home defenseman. I'm fairly good-sized with a good presence on the ice. I'm not afraid and don't get backed down by anybody. So, I just help our team out to be good in our own end and break the puck out and transition our team to offense. If I take care of our end and let our skilled guys do the rest of the work the other way, then we should fair okay.

McKeen's: With that physical presence, I thought they should have given you the hit of the night on that shoulder check you gave to Ryan Dingle. Now, as we've touched on a tiny bit, last season ended on a very high note with the Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs. However, unfortunately, that victory will not be remembered only for the play on the ice but also what happened with the trophy in the ceremony. What was your initial reaction to that and under further investigation, what was determined to have happened to the trophy?

Falk: On the ice there, it was quite a shock. I thought, "This can't be happening." This is our 15, 20 minutes of glory here, to actually sit back and celebrate. You don't get much time in hockey to really celebrate what you've accomplished, and we did all we could that year and we won it all, and I'm very proud of the boys, but that moment on the ice there, when that trophy broke, it was like, "Oh boy. What happened here?" But, they had 'er fixed up within a half-hour for our after party there, and I guess just some bolts were loose, which they should have snugged up a bit beforehand. I don't know if they loosened it in Kitchener there after we beat them out. Who knows?

McKeen's: (Chuckles) I hadn't thought about the potential sabotage aspect of that before. Now, to the substance of last season, tell me about some of the things that helped you have so much success last year in Spokane.

Falk: Well, we got off to a fairly good start. Coming into camp as a leader, I was given a letter, the "A" there. I wasn't quite sure we'd have the team (pauses), I didn't expect we'd have the team we did by the end of the year. We got off to a good start and we had a lot of speed throughout our team, that we can skate well and transition. In a league like that, you need a lot of speed to out-skate the opposition for the full 60 minutes. We made a couple key trades at the deadline, brought in some veteran leadership, and our goaltender was outstanding and we went all the way.

McKeen's: Indeed, Dustin Tokarski may prove that goalies 6-foot or under have a place in the NHL. With that, you were named to the All-Star Team for the Memorial Cup Tournament. What was your reaction to that and did it include any actual hardware or is it just on paper?

Falk: It was quite an accomplishment. I actually didn't find out until I was jumping out of the shower after the game there. We were celebrating, there was no ceremony or anything like that for on the ice. But, to be recognized like that with my style of play, you see a lot of offensive defenseman. I was fortunate enough to get a goal and an assist in the tournament there and chip in like that. To be recognized, I'm very proud of that effort.

McKeen's: Your head coach in Spokane, Bill Peters, shortly after the season, accepted the job in Rockford, whom you now play against now and again. So, what was your reaction to him making that move and what's it like to already be going up against him so soon?

Falk: I was very proud of him and happy for him. We had a few meetings throughout the year and we talked about the WHL just being a learning step. It's something that we need to get past as professionals in our career. We obviously all want to move on to something better in life, and for both of us to move up to the next level, hopefully he'll have success and so do I and hopefully see each other down the line in the National Hockey League.

McKeen's: You started your major junior career with the Calgary Hitmen, a few games one season and then a few games the next before you made the move to Spokane. Tell me about that move from Calgary to Spokane.

Falk: I didn't make the team as a 16-year-old, that's the first year of eligibility. So, they decided to re-assign me to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. I had a fairly good season there and developed and got called up for the playoffs. Got in a few games due to injury and started the next season, but just with the numbers they had and younger players they wanted to develop, being a 17-year-old rookie, I just wasn't getting the opportunity there. So, I had to tell myself, "I've gotta move on here." So, I decided to get dished to Spokane there, and things couldn't have worked out any better.

McKeen's: Was that a case where you and, I guess, maybe your agent arranged a move for more icetime or was it something they also decided for your benefit?

Falk: Well, it was something that we pushed for. You've got to play to develop, and the opportunity wasn't there. It wasn't guaranteed with Spokane, either, they told me when I got there. They said they didn't need defensemen, but fortunately their new head scout was a scout for Calgary who had watched me develop and believed in me and gave me that chance.

McKeen's: In your three full seasons of major juniors, what were some of the areas of your game that developed the most on the ice and then also off?

Falk: Just confidence with the puck and skating and stickhandling. I'm not a flashy defenseman or anything out there, but I can get myself out of trouble and join the rush and be helpful to the team like that, too, you know?

McKeen's: In your time in major juniors, who were some of the opponents who were the most difficult to defend or who gave you the most trouble?

Falk: Well, my first year, my first two years in the WHL, my foot speed wasn't quite developed. My skating has come a long ways. So, I ran up against Gilbert Brule and Peter Mueller, he's just fantastic with the puck. A couple of those players, they're tough. You've just got to keep them wide and do the best you can.

McKeen's: You were a fourth round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2007, and I'm sure you've done the developmental camps and the training camps. With the first training camp, how did that affect things going to major juniors going forward?

Falk: I had a good summer camp. They have a summer development camp for their rookie prospects, in 2007, so I attended that. I had a fairly good camp there. They were happy with how I was progressing, and then rookie camp came. There was a tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, where a bunch of teams get together. I only got in two of the four games, and things were a little up and down there, they were developing a few older players, again, being the younger guy, just having to be patient. So, I went back to junior with a mission in mind and we did well.

McKeen's: Did you find playing at that camp and then at Traverse City helped give you any sort of advantage over some of the guys who didn't go to NHL camps?

Falk: Yeah. The speed and the pace of the game is quicker at Traverse City. Players are hungry, and you're playing against a lot of good players from all around the world. You take that back to junior and you treat every player the same and you play hard.

McKeen's: Also in your time in Minnesota, who are some of the players in the Minnesota organization that you've skated with, either prospects or veterans, that have impressed you the most and why?

Falk: Well, my d-partner was Kim Johnsson in that game against Columbus, and I couldn't have asked for a better skilled player to bail me out of trouble if I got myself in there. So, you look at the guys, and they all skate, and they all move the puck well and hard, and they're confident and having a good time out there. Brent Burns is an unbelievable young player there who's got many great years ahead of him. Zidlicky has a great shot, but then you look at Skoula, too, as a stay-at-home defenseman trying to play hard in his end, and that's the role I have to follow.

McKeen's: As you mentioned, you played one year in the Manitoba League, with Swan Valley. Tell me a bit about Tier II, how it compared to major juniors, and how it helped prepare you.

Falk: I think it got me ready the most off the ice, and a bit on, moving away from home and getting out of that comfort zone. A lot of young kids that age are just, "Let's just go back and play AAA midget," their provincial teams. To get out of that comfort zone there and to play in Swan there, I had a very good season. The coach, which was Del Pedrick, was real good to me and gave me a chance and I developed.

McKeen's: You're from Snow Flake, Manitoba, which is right across the border from Hannah, North Dakota, which I found in my research. So, tell me a bit about Snow Flake, how big is it, and is it big enough to have a rink?

Falk: It's very tiny. It's a farming community with about, you know, maybe 25, 30 people running the local there. There's no gas station, there's no corner store or anything. I was fortunate enough to have an old shed with an arena inside of it. Me and my dad, he helped out so much with flooding the ice, and I'd skate there every day after school. I'd jump on the snowmobile, drive over there, and skate all night, and that's all I wanted. It was there for me.

McKeen's: I assume you're a farm boy, then?

Falk: Yeah, I'm a farm boy born and raised.

McKeen's: That's kind of the stereotype, the big Western Canadian farm boys that play tough hockey. Now, going back to your youth, when did you get your start, how did you get that start, and what organizations did you skate for on the way up?

Falk: Coming from a small community, population 300 in the area where I attended school and played minor hockey. So, a lot of my development came with my father in the rink in Snow Flake. We went there every night and played hard. It was something we loved and was something that he loved to do with me. So, I grew up in the minor hockey area of Pilot Mound/Crystal City, Manitoba. Played minor hockey there and played a year of high school for the Pembina Tigers. I was cut from AAA midget, so I played a year of high school. Then, the next season I bypassed midget and jumped to junior A. It's tough being a big guy that young, and my skating, I hadn't grown into my body yet. So, things are working out here now and I'm trying to get better.

McKeen's: That is quite a jump to go from being cut from AAA midgets to junior A. What were some of the things that happened that year in between that helped you make that leap?

Falk: I attended to Edge of Excellence, a skating school, that's pretty well known, and worked on my skating. Being big in that, if you can keep up with the game, I don't find myself getting hit hard or hammered or anything. So, as long as I can keep up with the pace of the game, coaches will hopefully give me a chance.

McKeen's: Lastly, who were some of your favorite players growing up, although you're not that old, and who are some players that you'd like to equate to today?

Falk: I always grew up liking Rob Blake, a guy that had a bit of offensive touch to him but threw those deadly hip checks on the wall there. But, as I grew older, I tried to transform into a Robyn Regehr, a big, rugged, stay-at-home defenseman, playing physical. Now you see the Brent Burns in Minnesota with an offensive touch that can skate like crazy. So, if I can work hard and develop anything like that and work on my confidence with the puck and puckhandling, hopefully there's a bright future.