John Klingberg Speaks To The Media On Exit Interview Day
By Josh Clark
Dallas Stars rookie defenseman John Klingberg spoke to the media on Monday, April 13th during the Stars’ exit interview day. This was the last day that the media would be able to freely talk with the players and coaching staff before training camp in September.
John Klingberg had positive things to say about his first NHL season and how much he loved the Dallas Stars group. Keep in mind, this interview was held before Klingberg signed his seven year extension with the organization.
Here is coverage of John Klingberg’s entire interview:
On his first season with Dallas:
I’m happy to be here. It’s a great team to be a part of. It’s all good.
On his level of personal success and how it compares with the team:
We all just have to take a look at ourselves. Ever since I got called up, the first thing I was looking to do was to learn and growing bigger as the season went on. It’s disappointing we didn’t go to the playoffs but I think we have something going here and it’s a big part for us.
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His view on the young defensemen and if they could grow together and become elite:
Yeah. I think if you look at other guys on the team like Eaks, Seggy, and Benn, they’re growing too. So we have a young team coming up here. Obviously we have a lot of rookies on the defensive core but I think everyone has done a good job. Next year will be very interesting now that we have some meat on us.
On if his offseason hip injury affected him at all during the year:
Well it’s different when you play a lot of games here. Practice is a little bit easier, too. But you have to take care of your body. It’s different. So I’m going to get used to this now and go home and work. I’ve missed a lot of summer training due to my hip problem, so it’ll be an important summer for me to come back here stronger and better.
On what he learned in his first NHL season and what he hopes for next season:
I think the biggest difference between here and Sweden is that if you make a mistake, the other team always takes advantage and scores goals. I think I just have to come back here and play at the same level the whole season next year.
On if he exceeded his own expectations:
Yeah. I think I had a good start when I got the call up here and I got a lot of help from good teammates. I didn’t expect myself to score that many points, so that’s a bonus. I was just happy to get here and get going with the team. So, yeah, a little bit.
On if he thinks the defense improved towards the end of the year:
I think if you compare the start of the year to the end of the year, I think that’s something we have to focus on for next year. We have a lot of good goal scorers on this team, so we need to care about defense more.
On what needs to specifically happen to improve defense:
I think we played pretty good defensively at the end of the season. So we just need to carry it over to the start of next year.
We will have complete coverage of exit interview day as the week goes on and into next week! Make sure to check Blackout Dallas for previous interviews we put up that you may have missed, and also check back daily for new updates as we make them accessible!
Next: Shawn Horcoff Speaks To The Media On Exit Interview Day
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