Ryan Nugent-Hopkins talks facial hair, chatting with Gretzky and chilling with the '84 Oilers (Puck Daddy Interview)

It’s really strange to think of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as a player in his fourth year in the NHL.

The Oilers' top-line center can still hardly grow facial hair – his Movember mustache looking like something out of a Bar Mitzvah photo album.

Looks aside, Nugent-Hopkins has seen his game mature this year. He’s just off a point-per-game pace at 10 in 13 contests – which is kind of normal for the 2011 No.  1 overall pick. But it’s other areas where he has made subtle strides.

His faceoffs – a weak spot in his game – have steadied at 49.0 percent, up from 42.4 percent a year ago. This means he can be trusted in those late-game two-way situations more than in the past.

Still, like the Oilers, there’s a sense of waiting for Nugent-Hopkins. He’s loaded with talent, but we’re all still wondering when he’s going to get out of this awkward growth spurt and become a man.

Edmonton seems so close this year to making those gains. You can see the good – with a four-game winning streak, and a current two-game stretch – but also the bad with a five-game winless streak and a four-game losing skid.

We caught up with Nugent-Hopkins in Nashville after a Monday practice as he prepared for a Tuesday game against the Predators. 

Q: You have a nice Movember stache going. Can you ever grow a playoff beard?

Nugent-Hopkins: This is about as much as you’ll be able to see from my playoff beard. If it looked like we’re going to make the playoffs, I’d start growing everything I have a long time in advance.

When?

Probably February.

Edmonton probably has the last great dynasty in the NHL. How tough is it to live up to the tradition those teams created?

When they were there, they accomplished some amazing things. It’s such a great team. It’s kind of understated how good players they had and good for us to kind of have a little bit of that pressure. It makes us want to play better for that city, and the fans that experienced it a while ago who want to get back to that.

Is it kind of weird knowing you weren’t alive when those teams were around?

It’s funny. Obviously you see clips, the old throwback game once in a while. I wasn’t around to experience that. When they had the ’84 reunion team in Edmonton a few weeks ago, we got to meet a bunch of them, that was pretty cool …

Wait, was it your first time meeting them?

First time meeting a few of them. I had met (Mark) Messier, (Wayne) Gretzky and (Glenn) Anderson before.  (Paul) Coffey was there as was (Jari) Kurri … it was really cool. To see them all there in the same room after 30 years, it goes to show when you’re a great team like that how much you bond and you really become a family.

What was the best part of that reunion for you?

I think getting to talk to a few of them, I got to talk to Coffey – I had never talked to him before … one of the all-time great defensemen, Gretzky, Messier….

What in the world do you talk to Gretzky about? There are so many questions I’d have if I was an NHL player. 

I don’t try to ask too many things about hockey. I talked to him a little bit on what it’s like for everyone to get together after 30 years and what close a group they were.

What was it like the first time you talked to him? 

He called me when I got drafted, like the day after. He gave me a call. That was pretty cool. It was the first time I had ever talked to him, and I met him in the dressing room my first year. That was pretty cool.

What did you say to him when he called you?

I didn’t say much. I didn’t do much of the talking …

Do you remember anything from that conversation? 

It was more just surreal. I don’t remember too much of the conversation.

You seem to be more at ease this year. Is there a difference in your game?

I came in with a little bit more confidence this season. Physically I felt better, there were no injuries. It was a good off-season for me. Physically I felt good. I kind of know every night, going in, what to expect. I just have to have the confidence to go out there and do it every night. I have felt a lot better and more comfortable and more confident out there.

You’ve been the guy who has stepped up it seems with Taylor Hall going down. Has his absence sort of thrust you into a bigger role?

When you lose a guy like that... It’s tough for the team, but guys have to find a way to pick it up for him. I think our line, other lines have really picked it up since he has been gone. When he comes back, guys have to stay on that level so we can excel more when he is in the lineup. He’s a big part of our team, so we have to pick up the slack for him.

Faceoffs have always been a weak point in your game. You’re at near 50 percent this year. What’s the difference?

A little bit of strength. It’s funny at how far confidence goes. If you go in there and if you have confidence that you can get in there and you can dig in every single draw, and win those battles, it’s huge for sure. This season I felt a lot more comfortable in there too. It’s something that I’m going to keep working on my whole career. I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better, but I can do a lot better

When did you realize it was working?

I think when I came in this year I felt a lot stronger at the start of the season in exhibition games. I had some pretty good games. It’s something that I want to take pride in. I want to be a centerman that can go in there during key times in the game, takes his own faceoffs as well.

With so many high draft picks, everyone seems to be waiting on your team to finally click. When is it going to happen? Are you also tired of waiting? 

Obviously we want to have it this season. You can already see in our game we’ve made some big steps and, there’s been a few games this season where we haven’t come out with two points, but we’ve still played really good hockey, a lot better than we have the last couple of years and we just have to keep working. We’re still a young team that makes mistakes once in a while that cost us. If we fix those we will start to excel.

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