Inferno Interview - Dan LaCosta

With a little under a month to go until the first friendly games of the 2013-14 season we’ve finally started catching up with the Devils new signings. First up we have new net minder Daniel LaCosta who joins the Devils with a wealth of experience from a career that’s seen him drafted in the third round, 94th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and post a shutout in his second NHL career start for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
We spoke to Dan to get an idea of what we can expect from our new Net minder for the coming season.

The Inferno - What drew you towards playing in the United Kingdom? Have you been here before whilst playing in Europe?

Dan LaCosta - I have never been to the UK before, and I'm very excited to see it. I've heard the UK is beautiful, and I heard Wales is especially nice so I can't wait. The deciding factors was the teams willingness to pay for me to do my MBA degree, as well as the fact that my wife could work over there. I wasn't really planning on playing anywhere and was going to retire and go to Law school, but this was an opportunity my wife and I couldn't pass up.

The Inferno - How and when did you get involved with hockey?

Dan LaCosta - Like more kids in Canada I grew up playing hockey, I started at about 7-8 years old I can't quite remember. All of my friends were playing, my father used to play; I just started playing hockey as something fun to do with my friends.

The Inferno - What can we expect from your game? Are you the type of nettie who will order his D men around?

Dan LaCosta -  I rely a lot on solid positioning and good technique, I try to play a very simple game to be honest. I want my d-men and the rest of my teammates to respect me and want to play for me, so I wouldn't try to boss or order anyone around. I'll do whatever I can to help them out, and the rest of the team so we can win as many games as possible and be a tight group.

The Inferno - Do you expect your D men to clear out opposition forwards from your D area and are you prepared to do that sort of thing yourself?

Dan LaCosta- I do love it and prefer it when my d-men take care of that for me, but I am not afraid to stand up for myself in the crease if needed.

The Inferno - What do you consider the strongest part of your game and what one aspect if your game would you like to improve - and why?

Dan LaCosta - My biggest strength I would have to say would be my skating and positioning, I like to use my size to my advantage. When I am off my game I am a little passive, and I've worked hard to improve that aspect of my game.

The Inferno - What’s been your best moment as a pro hockey player to date?

Dan LaCosta - My best professional moment was winning my first start in the NHL in overtime vs. San Jose. It was a very surreal feeling, every young goaltenders dream.

The Inferno - Do you have any sort of superstitions or things you have to do before starting a game?

Dan LaCosta- I wouldn't call them superstitions, but I have a pretty detailed routine. It's mostly just because I feel that's the best way for me to be mentally and physically prepared to play my best, I don't do anything crazy or weird though, just pretty standard warm up drills that most athletes would do before competition.

The Inferno - What do you know, if anything about the “Big Blue Tent”? Have you heard about the new facility and did it affect your decision to come to Cardiff?

Dan LaCosta - At first I thought the 'Big Blue Tent' was a beer tent next to the arena, but I've since learned that is actually what they call the arena! I've heard it's an awesome place to have as your home rink and that the fans are awesome. Everything that I have seen/heard about the new facility looks great, but it didn't play into my decision to come to Cardiff as I only signed a one year contract.

The Inferno - Looking at the net minders who have played for us over the years, do you know any of them?

Dan LaCosta - I do not know any over them personally, but I have heard of a few of them. It looks like there have been some very solid goalies playing there over the last few seasons; hopefully I can continue the trend.

The Inferno - It was mentioned in the club PR that you'd had a bad time playing in Austria and that led to you going back to university. How hard a decision was it to suspend your pro career and then sit a season out?

Dan LaCosta- Well in Austria I was told one thing and what happened was completely different and it wound up turning my life completely upside down. At that point of my life and career it actually wasn't a hard decision to go back to school, I'm very happy I did it. Before university I lived a pretty sheltered life and all I really knew was hockey, it was great for me to open my eyes to a whole new world I never knew about before. On top of that I made a ton of great friends and won a national championship in hockey, it was a really positive experience.

The Inferno - You’ve got a day off, what are you doing? What’s the ideal day outside of “work”?

Dan LaCosta -  I'd have a nice breakfast with my wife, go for a walk, probably do some yoga (i'm a huge yoga fan), play some guitar, and go out for supper with some friends or family.

The Inferno - We've had a couple of netminders the last few years who like to head behind the net to collect pucks... It's mostly terrifying; can we expect the same from you?

Dan LaCosta - I try to help my teammates out as much as I can with that, but I would rather them be the ones playing the puck than me. I'm a pretty simple puck handler and I don't usually try any risky plays, I try to keep it pretty safe back there.

The Inferno - There's a lot of tough looking players being signed for next season over here, we've had a netminder fight an enforcer or two a while ago, have you had to drop the gloves as a netminder before?

Dan LaCosta- I haven't in a game in a long long time, since I was a teenager. I've gotten into a few scuffles in practice when I was younger too, but I am a lot more relaxed now, it usually takes a lot to set me off.

The Inferno - Have you made plans for when you hang your skates up?

Dan LaCosta - Like I mentioned before I planned on my previous season to be my last, but Cardiff made me an offer I couldn't turn down. I'm just trying to take my career a season at a time right now, and enjoy the experience as much as I can. I might play this season and then retire, or I might play 10 more, I really don't know. I consider myself very lucky to get to play a sport while getting paid, and getting to travel to parts of the world I've never seen, I just want to soak it all in and have as much fun as I can while I am playing.

Anything else you would like to add?

Dan LaCosta -  I am really looking forward to coming to the UK and playing for the Cardiff Devils, everything I have heard about the people and the organization has been positive and I can't wait to see it for myself, thanks!

We’d like to thank Dan for taking the time to speak to us and wish him all the best for the upcoming season.