Inferno Interview - Tylor Michel

As the off season starts we’ve looked back on a few fan favourites  for our next few Interviews and we couldn’t think of anyone better to start with than Mr Gritty Hockey himself Sir Tylor Michel. Despite leaving the club to head to Sweden, Tylor is still a well-respected figure to Devils fans and always no doubt be a firm fan favourite for his gritty style of hockey and commitment to getting things done.

Always a true professional and we would love to see him back with the Devils but hockey's a funny sport and you never know with these things. We talked to Tylor about his move to Sweden, the league itself and those horrible road trips and we just straight out asked him the question, you know the one we all want to ask...

The Inferno (IF) We'd like to start with what most Devils fans will no doubt consider to be the most important question we can ask you... Any chance your coming back?

Tylor - Anything could happen but it would take a nice offer to return to the Devils

IF - Since you left the Devils, have you kept in touch with old team mates/fans at the club? Are you missing Cardiff at all?

Tylor - I stayed in touch with a couple of the guys. I messaged some fans via twitter/Facebook. As I stated before I'm very fond of my Cardiff memories but I wouldn't say I'm missing it. That's no disrespect to the City of Cardiff, I'm just used to leaving cities all the time.....Chippy lane I miss! haha

IF - How do you compare the league you play in Sweden to what you did in the UK? Are the Officials better or worse are there any aspects of the game they look at differently?

Tylor -Swedish league is less physical, officials are good and bad like most leagues (some bad calls/no calls) It’s tough to compare between both leagues because we ran over most of the teams. Bjorkloven is a well-known hockey town in Sweden. The organization should be in the next level and will be soon.

IF - Road trips- are road trips as long as the ones here? I'm sure your happy not travelling up to Scotland on a Saturday then travelling home for a Sunday game? I'm sure I read before that your team bus hit a deer or something? Much damage to the bus?

Tylor - Our road trips were much more enjoyable. Longest one is 8 hours and we travel there the day before. We rarely played back to back games which helps the body. Also our bus had WIFI and plugs for our laptops which was key. Most guys would bring laptops and watch what and when they want. I'm sure Scott Matzka would appreciate having a quiet bus when trying to sleep. Yeah we hit a reindeer before our Christmas holidays, caught all of us off guard. The bus didn't have much damage other than a broken head-light and some front end damage.

IF - Team mates- What is the language barrier like? Many North American's in the team or are you the only one?

Tylor - I was pleasantly surprised that everyone from Sweden speaks English pretty well. There was another Canadian on the team which really helped because we had a lot in common and there are times when the boys are all talking Swedish.

IF - How was last season for you? Did the team do well?

Tylor - I would give myself a grade of a B-. I did lead the team in goals scored but I know I can contribute even more. It took a while for me to get used to the big ice. I was happy with my work ethic. Our team struggled a bit after Christmas but ex. NHLer Patrick Sundstrom became our Assistant coach and it really made a big difference. We lost in the playoff semi-finals which still makes me angry because I couldn't ask more from the guys in terms of effort and intensity. We had home ice advantage, went there for game one and which is HUGE because it’s only a best of 3 and we hadn't lost 1 game at home all season. We ended up losing the next two at home. Out-shot our opponents 100-59 in three games. Couple bad bounces against and their goalie stood on his head and we didn't execute at our best.

IF - Can you compare the Björklöven fans to the Devils fans? How are they different. Are you appreciated as much in Sweden as you were in Cardiff?

Tylor - Both teams have great fans. I wouldn't say they differ all that much. Bjorkloven fans started the Tylor chants early in the year. I was very well received by the Bjorkloven fans.

IF - How do the arenas in Sweden compare to the UK in terms of atmosphere, size and crowd numbers ?

Tylor - Bjorkloven's arena is pretty nice, sits around 6k, our dressing-room was pretty nice. A lot of the arena's we played in were not the greatest. The atmosphere at home was always pretty good, averaged around 3k fans per game. On the road the atmosphere wasn't anything to write home about.

IF - We hear you went in net for last practice before you headed home? How did you find this? More respect for goalies since you did this?

Tylor -Yeah I strapped on all the tending gear, the boys were pretty impressed with how I did. I respect goalies a bit more after being in the gear for an hour.

IF - What are your plans for next season? Have you had any offers yet and have Björklöven offered you another year with them?

Tylor - Bjorkloven is interested in bringing me back.