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Q&A: Gopher Defensemen Jake Parenteau Talks Injury, Karate Lessons & More
By Thom Wynn
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/349421?referrer_id=388419
On a team filled with offensive minded Defenseman, Jake Parenteau stands out as more of your classic stay at home blue-liner. The kind of guy who gets more satisfaction delivering a good lick on an opposing player, than racking up points. Not that he’s opposed to assists and goals. Those are great, if he can get em. And they tend to be an important part of hockey. But Parenteau just seems like one of those guys who is content playing Safety, to steal a football term. He watches the back end while his playing partner carries the puck up the ice, or joins the play deep in the offensive zone. More than anything, he just seems thankful that he was able to find a spot with the Gophers, allowing him to follow in the footsteps of his Father (Tom) and Uncle (Mike Anderson).
At 5’10” 198, Jake Parenteau is not the biggest guy on the ice, nor is he the smallest. What he is, though, is a sturdy defender who doesn’t hesitate stepping into the biggest guy on the ice, and usually fares well. One time when things didn’t turn out well, was 12/6/13 versus Michigan State. Parenteau broke his right leg, when he delivered a check to a Spartan player along the boards. After watching him go down in a heap, color commentator Ben Clymer said “That’s not good. He’s screaming. I can hear him”. As you watched the Senior from Franconia being helped from the ice, you couldn’t help but feel for him. Not only was he in a terrible amount of pain, many believed it might be the last time we saw Parenteau in a Gopher uniform.
But he returned quickly. Much faster than anyone expected. Well, faster than outsiders expected. His teammates and coaches didn’t seem surprised. A couple of weeks prior to his return, teammate Brady Skjei was asked about Parenteau’s status, and said “He’s good. Same old Jake. He’s a great guy in the locker room. I think his recovery is going well. Maybe a little ahead of schedule”. Parenteau did return ahead of schedule, just in time for the North Star College Cup at the Xcel Energy Center. Head Coach Don Lucia said after Parenteau’s first game back, “It’s nice to have Jake back, especially for him. As a Senior, it’s awfully difficult to get hurt, and miss the back half of the year”
We nabbed Parenteau outside the locker room at Mariucci Arena as he prepared for practice last week. Insensitively, I made him stand there on his surgically repaired leg while he answered my questions. This process of making people answer your questions is sometimes referred to as an “interview”.
GH: You broke your leg December 6th at Michigan State, and subsequently had surgery. How’s it feeling?
JP: “Good! I had a little rust on me after seven weeks, but it felt really good to get out there and play with the guys again”
GH: Are you going to be setting off the metal detector at the airport?
JP: “Probably. There’s a plate and some screws in there holding things together”
GH: Were you a little hesitant coming back after the injury?
JP: “At first I was. But it slowly came back, and I feel a lot better this week, especially in practice”
GH: Do you have any superstitions?
JP: “Not really. I have a routine I like to go through, and I try to stick with it. But if I miss something, it’s not the end of the world”
GH: What kind of preparations are you talking about? You have to eat certain foods, or have to put your gear on in a certain order?
JP: Nah, more-so just the stuff I do before a game. I try to listen to my iPod after we do our warmup. We also play a game called ‘sewer ball’ with a soccer ball upstairs before every game. I like to play that, but if I miss it, I can live without it”
GH: You said you listen to your iPod before a game? Do you have to wear it because you disagree with the music selection in the locker room??
JP: (Smiling) “Noooo, I just have my own little playlist with pump up songs that get me going and ready for the game”
GH: Mind if I ask what you listen to?
JP: “Uhhh, I like Imagine Dragons, a couple of their songs. And then Avicii… they’re pretty good”
GH: …yeah, I’m too old to have a firm grasp on who that is…
JP: (Laugh)
GH: Part of the reason I ask about the music, is I expect to hear a little more hardcore tunes coming from the locker room after a win, but it’s always Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, or something like that. What gives?
JP: (Laughing) Yeah, the win songs! It’s somewhat of a joke, but we all love the songs. It’s something we know, and we’re all singing along to it. It’s not to pump us up anymore, it’s a celebration kind of thing”
GH: I know there’s pranks that go on in the locker room? Who is the instigator or instigators on the team? I get the feeling it’s you. Would that be fairly accurate?
JP: “Yeah. I’m known for that. We do a lot of water cups in the stall. You put it in their helmet so when they grab their helmet, it falls on em”
GH: Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Sounds like that’s the gag of choice. I can tell you’re a smart ass, because my first memory of you was not for something you did on the ice, it was something you did in the hallway outside the locker room during a weekly press conference. One of the players was talking to the press, and had TV cameras and microphones in their face. I watched as you walked behind the cameras with some of the other players, and you were making a stiff face at the interviewee. Sound about right?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah.”
GH: Seeing as your Dad & Uncle played here, I’m assuming you grew up a Gopher Hockey fan?
JP: “Yeah. Oh yeah. I had everything Gopher apparel when I was growing up, right up until I signed here. This is where my heart was as long as I can remember”
GH: Take us through the life of a hockey prospect? Coming out of High School, was there any interest from the Gophers? How about other colleges?
JP: “There wasn’t. Nothing at all. I had a tryout for a Junior B team at the time, the St. Paul Lakers. Made that team, played for a season, and had a pretty good year. Then I tried out for the North Iowa Outlaws. Dave Boitz was the coach for North Iowa. Halfway through the tryouts for that team, he went to the Alaska Avalanche. He liked how I was playing at the tryout, so he told me to come up to Alaska. I was like, OK!”
GH: I know you’re into the outdoors, Hunting, Fishing, etc. Was that part of the reason you wanted to go up there?
JP: “Yeah, it was. And I had nothing else going. It was something to do. And who could turn down living in Alaska for a couple of years. I had a lot of friends, and had an absolute blast. It was a lot of fun”
GH: Did you live in Alaska year round when you were playing up there?
JP: “My first year I stayed up there for probably nine months… halfway through the summer. Then I came back to Minnesota until it was time to come back for the next season. I’ll tell you what, Summer’s were a lot better up there than the winter’s“
GH: Any “Into The Wild” type bear encounters, or anything?
JP: “There were a lot of moose. Moose in Alaska are like deer here. You had to be real careful driving up there, because those things are like fridges on stilts. I never saw a bear, but we had moose in our yard pretty much every morning when we woke up”
GH: According to HockeyFights.com, you were involved in 4 scraps in 3 seasons in Alaska. 3 of the 4 fights were with somebody whose first or last name starts with a ‘J’ (Michael Joula, Jon Feavel & Josh Nelson). My first question is, what do you have against the letter J? And secondly, do Justin Kloos’, Jake Bischoff and/or Justin Holl need to watch their back?
JP: (Laughing) “Ha! I didn’t even know that! I just… I mean, I never really looked for a fight, it just kind of happened”
GH: Do you also hate guys with the initial J in their name? If so, should A.J. Michaelson expect an ass kicking?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, he probably should”
GH: So, Michaelson’s been asking for it?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, he’s earned it”
GH: Speaking of fighting, did you really take karate classes with Shibrowski?
JP: “Yeah, we took it last semester”
GH: Does karate come in handy on the ice??
JP: “No. It was more of a filler class, but it was a lot of fun. We learned a lot. I mean it was pretty hard, too. We like to mess around with the guys in the locker room with it, and get a rise out of em”
GH: I’m thinking a roundhouse kick with a skate would be affective, but frowned upon.
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, especially with a blade on!”
GH: So, you’re a karate man, and you’re a hockey player. What other sports did you play growing up?
JP: “I played golf. I still love golf. I play it all the time in the summer. I played football until my Freshman year of high school, and then really got into hockey, and stopped playing. Golf I stopped playing my Sophomore year, but I still played as much as I could, just not competitively with the high school team. I was always at the hockey rink. I worked there during my high school years with my best friends, and we were up there every day skating, and being on the ice”
GH: Were you like many other athletes that excelled at one sport, kind of forced to pick a path?
JP: “It was more that I just loved hockey. Just couldn’t stay away. There were nights that we’d stay all night at the rink, and just had fun with the guys from our team. We never caused any trouble, we just had a blast”
GH: You went to Chisago Lakes High School?
JP: Yes
GH: That area has never exactly been a hockey hotbed. Do you think that’s part of the reason you never got any looks from any Division I schools?
JP: Yeah. I mean, hopefully that turns around. The boys are pretty good this year. My sister Lexy played at Bemidji State. She was kind of a stepping stone on the girls side. And before me, Chad Anderson came out of there and played at Alaska-Anchorage. Hopefully, it starts growing more, and better hockey players come out of there”
GH: What are your hopes for your post college life/career?
JP: “Well, I’ll hopefully keep on playing hockey. I mean, that’s my ideal goal. Hockey is only around as long as my body can handle it, so I’m going to try to carry that out as long as I can. If it doesn’t work out, then hopefully I can find a job that suits me well”
By Thom Wynn
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/349421?referrer_id=388419
On a team filled with offensive minded Defenseman, Jake Parenteau stands out as more of your classic stay at home blue-liner. The kind of guy who gets more satisfaction delivering a good lick on an opposing player, than racking up points. Not that he’s opposed to assists and goals. Those are great, if he can get em. And they tend to be an important part of hockey. But Parenteau just seems like one of those guys who is content playing Safety, to steal a football term. He watches the back end while his playing partner carries the puck up the ice, or joins the play deep in the offensive zone. More than anything, he just seems thankful that he was able to find a spot with the Gophers, allowing him to follow in the footsteps of his Father (Tom) and Uncle (Mike Anderson).
At 5’10” 198, Jake Parenteau is not the biggest guy on the ice, nor is he the smallest. What he is, though, is a sturdy defender who doesn’t hesitate stepping into the biggest guy on the ice, and usually fares well. One time when things didn’t turn out well, was 12/6/13 versus Michigan State. Parenteau broke his right leg, when he delivered a check to a Spartan player along the boards. After watching him go down in a heap, color commentator Ben Clymer said “That’s not good. He’s screaming. I can hear him”. As you watched the Senior from Franconia being helped from the ice, you couldn’t help but feel for him. Not only was he in a terrible amount of pain, many believed it might be the last time we saw Parenteau in a Gopher uniform.
But he returned quickly. Much faster than anyone expected. Well, faster than outsiders expected. His teammates and coaches didn’t seem surprised. A couple of weeks prior to his return, teammate Brady Skjei was asked about Parenteau’s status, and said “He’s good. Same old Jake. He’s a great guy in the locker room. I think his recovery is going well. Maybe a little ahead of schedule”. Parenteau did return ahead of schedule, just in time for the North Star College Cup at the Xcel Energy Center. Head Coach Don Lucia said after Parenteau’s first game back, “It’s nice to have Jake back, especially for him. As a Senior, it’s awfully difficult to get hurt, and miss the back half of the year”
We nabbed Parenteau outside the locker room at Mariucci Arena as he prepared for practice last week. Insensitively, I made him stand there on his surgically repaired leg while he answered my questions. This process of making people answer your questions is sometimes referred to as an “interview”.
GH: You broke your leg December 6th at Michigan State, and subsequently had surgery. How’s it feeling?
JP: “Good! I had a little rust on me after seven weeks, but it felt really good to get out there and play with the guys again”
GH: Are you going to be setting off the metal detector at the airport?
JP: “Probably. There’s a plate and some screws in there holding things together”
GH: Were you a little hesitant coming back after the injury?
JP: “At first I was. But it slowly came back, and I feel a lot better this week, especially in practice”
GH: Do you have any superstitions?
JP: “Not really. I have a routine I like to go through, and I try to stick with it. But if I miss something, it’s not the end of the world”
GH: What kind of preparations are you talking about? You have to eat certain foods, or have to put your gear on in a certain order?
JP: Nah, more-so just the stuff I do before a game. I try to listen to my iPod after we do our warmup. We also play a game called ‘sewer ball’ with a soccer ball upstairs before every game. I like to play that, but if I miss it, I can live without it”
GH: You said you listen to your iPod before a game? Do you have to wear it because you disagree with the music selection in the locker room??
JP: (Smiling) “Noooo, I just have my own little playlist with pump up songs that get me going and ready for the game”
GH: Mind if I ask what you listen to?
JP: “Uhhh, I like Imagine Dragons, a couple of their songs. And then Avicii… they’re pretty good”
GH: …yeah, I’m too old to have a firm grasp on who that is…
JP: (Laugh)
GH: Part of the reason I ask about the music, is I expect to hear a little more hardcore tunes coming from the locker room after a win, but it’s always Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, or something like that. What gives?
JP: (Laughing) Yeah, the win songs! It’s somewhat of a joke, but we all love the songs. It’s something we know, and we’re all singing along to it. It’s not to pump us up anymore, it’s a celebration kind of thing”
GH: I know there’s pranks that go on in the locker room? Who is the instigator or instigators on the team? I get the feeling it’s you. Would that be fairly accurate?
JP: “Yeah. I’m known for that. We do a lot of water cups in the stall. You put it in their helmet so when they grab their helmet, it falls on em”
GH: Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Sounds like that’s the gag of choice. I can tell you’re a smart ass, because my first memory of you was not for something you did on the ice, it was something you did in the hallway outside the locker room during a weekly press conference. One of the players was talking to the press, and had TV cameras and microphones in their face. I watched as you walked behind the cameras with some of the other players, and you were making a stiff face at the interviewee. Sound about right?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah.”
GH: Seeing as your Dad & Uncle played here, I’m assuming you grew up a Gopher Hockey fan?
JP: “Yeah. Oh yeah. I had everything Gopher apparel when I was growing up, right up until I signed here. This is where my heart was as long as I can remember”
GH: Take us through the life of a hockey prospect? Coming out of High School, was there any interest from the Gophers? How about other colleges?
JP: “There wasn’t. Nothing at all. I had a tryout for a Junior B team at the time, the St. Paul Lakers. Made that team, played for a season, and had a pretty good year. Then I tried out for the North Iowa Outlaws. Dave Boitz was the coach for North Iowa. Halfway through the tryouts for that team, he went to the Alaska Avalanche. He liked how I was playing at the tryout, so he told me to come up to Alaska. I was like, OK!”
GH: I know you’re into the outdoors, Hunting, Fishing, etc. Was that part of the reason you wanted to go up there?
JP: “Yeah, it was. And I had nothing else going. It was something to do. And who could turn down living in Alaska for a couple of years. I had a lot of friends, and had an absolute blast. It was a lot of fun”
GH: Did you live in Alaska year round when you were playing up there?
JP: “My first year I stayed up there for probably nine months… halfway through the summer. Then I came back to Minnesota until it was time to come back for the next season. I’ll tell you what, Summer’s were a lot better up there than the winter’s“
GH: Any “Into The Wild” type bear encounters, or anything?
JP: “There were a lot of moose. Moose in Alaska are like deer here. You had to be real careful driving up there, because those things are like fridges on stilts. I never saw a bear, but we had moose in our yard pretty much every morning when we woke up”
GH: According to HockeyFights.com, you were involved in 4 scraps in 3 seasons in Alaska. 3 of the 4 fights were with somebody whose first or last name starts with a ‘J’ (Michael Joula, Jon Feavel & Josh Nelson). My first question is, what do you have against the letter J? And secondly, do Justin Kloos’, Jake Bischoff and/or Justin Holl need to watch their back?
JP: (Laughing) “Ha! I didn’t even know that! I just… I mean, I never really looked for a fight, it just kind of happened”
GH: Do you also hate guys with the initial J in their name? If so, should A.J. Michaelson expect an ass kicking?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, he probably should”
GH: So, Michaelson’s been asking for it?
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, he’s earned it”
GH: Speaking of fighting, did you really take karate classes with Shibrowski?
JP: “Yeah, we took it last semester”
GH: Does karate come in handy on the ice??
JP: “No. It was more of a filler class, but it was a lot of fun. We learned a lot. I mean it was pretty hard, too. We like to mess around with the guys in the locker room with it, and get a rise out of em”
GH: I’m thinking a roundhouse kick with a skate would be affective, but frowned upon.
JP: (Laughing) “Yeah, especially with a blade on!”
GH: So, you’re a karate man, and you’re a hockey player. What other sports did you play growing up?
JP: “I played golf. I still love golf. I play it all the time in the summer. I played football until my Freshman year of high school, and then really got into hockey, and stopped playing. Golf I stopped playing my Sophomore year, but I still played as much as I could, just not competitively with the high school team. I was always at the hockey rink. I worked there during my high school years with my best friends, and we were up there every day skating, and being on the ice”
GH: Were you like many other athletes that excelled at one sport, kind of forced to pick a path?
JP: “It was more that I just loved hockey. Just couldn’t stay away. There were nights that we’d stay all night at the rink, and just had fun with the guys from our team. We never caused any trouble, we just had a blast”
GH: You went to Chisago Lakes High School?
JP: Yes
GH: That area has never exactly been a hockey hotbed. Do you think that’s part of the reason you never got any looks from any Division I schools?
JP: Yeah. I mean, hopefully that turns around. The boys are pretty good this year. My sister Lexy played at Bemidji State. She was kind of a stepping stone on the girls side. And before me, Chad Anderson came out of there and played at Alaska-Anchorage. Hopefully, it starts growing more, and better hockey players come out of there”
GH: What are your hopes for your post college life/career?
JP: “Well, I’ll hopefully keep on playing hockey. I mean, that’s my ideal goal. Hockey is only around as long as my body can handle it, so I’m going to try to carry that out as long as I can. If it doesn’t work out, then hopefully I can find a job that suits me well”