Thursday

Entertainment

On The Ice with Manny Malhotra!

The idea of playing sports or watching it, whether live or on TV, is one of the biggest passions in America. And of all the sports, hockey is passionate, both for the players and their fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league, which is made up of 30 teams in North America. The Stanley Cup trophy is awarded every year to the league Champion at the end of each season. So where am I going with all this?

Let’s take a trip to Columbus, Ohio…home of the Blue Jackets. There you’ll find 6-foot, 2-inch tall, centre player, Emmanuel Noveen Malhotra aka Manny! Now I’ve been a fan of Manny since I first saw him play in 1999. I was sitting right behind the penalty box at a NJ Devils home game versus the NY Rangers. I had a huge, bright pink poster that said, “Manny I <3 YOU! PUCK PLEASE!” (Oh come on! Every girl who was 14 at that time would’ve done the same!) Just my luck…Manny skates over, takes his hockey stick and uses it to throw a puck over the glass wall. And yes, till date, I still have the poster, and the puck on my dresser as a memorabilia of my favorite NHL player!

Okay, enough of the ‘fan moment.’ In the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Manny was the 7^th overall pick during the first round and started off his professional career with the New York Rangers. It was during this time that he had the opportunity to play and sit next to people such as Wayne Gretzky. From there Manny played for the Dallas Starts and is now playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s a killer combination of skills and culture – his dad is from Punjab and his mom is French Canadian. Trying not to re-live my fan moment too much on the phone, I got to catch up with Manny about his past and present NHL career and much more!

I guess the first thing everyone wants to know is, why hockey?
Like every other Canadian kid, that’s what you do in winter. My family grew up playing soccer and when I was seven a buddy of mine went to play hockey and I went along with him and I stuck to it.

How supportive were your parents when you wanted to pursue sports as a career?
They never really knew I wanted to do it as a career. They always pushed school so it was never an issue to be a pro athlete. They first and foremost always made sure my grades were up to par and once I left home when I was 16 or 17, I realized I wanted to do this as a career and they were in the same mindset as me. They supported me regardless of what I wanted to do.

I remember my first Manny Malhotra game! I was a freshman in high school and you were playing for the Rangers! What was your experience like with them?
I was coming in so young. It was a great experience. Looking back if I knew then what I knew now things would be different. I was a very naïve 19 year old kid coming into a great city and great hockey city. From a hockey stand point wasn’t that great based on playing time, but the experience of learning from the guys there was great and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

From there you went to play with the Dallas Stars and now you’re with the Columbus Blue Jackets. How long have you been with Columbus?
I’ve been here three years and the biggest difference maturity wise is I think about the game a lot better now and I’m more composed on the ice; before it was playing on adrenaline and the rush of being on the NHL. After playing so many games and seeing so many things, you become a veteran player and you learn to read the game a lot better.

Do you find it hard moving from city to city? How does your family deal with it?
It was easy when I was a bachelor. I’d pack my clothes and gear and be on my way. Now I’m married and with a kid. I take things more into consideration. I take them (my family) into thought first. The biggest difference is you have to take the needs of your family and how they’d adjust in a new city into thought first.

People hear “Malhotra” and they know you’re Indian, but then are surprised when they learn you’re also half French Canadian. Do you consider yourself more of one than the other or is there an equal balance?
I think there’s an equal balance. You’re always proud of your heritage and it’s a topic of discussion. For the most part you never look at it as something that would be talked about in everyday situations or affect the outcomes or decision making on day to day basis. For the most part, I have a good knowledge of where my parents are from, growing up in Canada and being who I am today.

When was your last trip to India?
I’ve never actually been and spoke to my dad about it a number of times. My wife and I would love to make a trip out there. The only time we’d have is in the summer and my dad said it’d be a little too hot in the dead of summer. For it to be worthwhile it’d have to be for a month, but we’d like to do it in the future as a family.

In professional sports, there are very few South Asians who play. Why do you think that is?
I couldn’t tell you to be honest. I think in North America, at least for the most part, a lot of South Asian families put stress on academics as opposed to athletics. I think that’s one of the biggest things I find. A lot of kids play soccer back home in Mississauga, and once kids get older in the high school ages they are always stressed on academics. In my family, once dad came over to the US, he fell in love with sports and athletes; I think he wanted his kids to be athletic, not do it pro, but be active and physically active.

At what age did you start to play hockey?
I started to play hockey at the age of seven and I started to skate when I was six.

What has been your most memorable moment thus far in your career?
I think my first year. If I look back at my first year and the caliber of players I played with and learn from, I sat next to Gretzky all year long…the list goes on of all the guys who played during that time. And being Gretzky’s last year, I think it was a pretty big highlight looking back.

What advice do you have for those who want to pursue a career in sports?
If you look at the numbers, it’s a small percentage of people who have the opportunity to play sports as a career. The advice I always have is make sure you always have fun in the rink or on the field. At a young age you can’t think of playing sports as a job. If you go to the rink and don’t enjoy it, then it’s not for you. Enjoy what you’re doing and work as hard as you can towards it.

Manny it’s been an absolute pleasure! Best of luck to you this season! Do you have any final words for our readers?
Thanks for your time Tirusha and glad you still have that puck! Thanks to everyone for the support and if you’re ever in Columbus come to a game!