How Panthers & Oilers Players Prepare For The Stanley Cup Finals

What's up, guys? Leslie Robbins here for Young Hollywood, coming to you from Amarin Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, home ice for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

We've got the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, and the Cats are going for their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Let's get to it.

Your debut, the Stanley Cup Final. The cup is actually on a table a few feet from here. What type of emotions are going through you right now?

Um, just excited. Um, you know, excited to get the the madness all over with, you know, obviously today is uh a busy day for everybody, but you know, once it's over with, it's just going to be hockey and get back to that and I'm just excited for that. It's exciting. I mean, uh, we we've had this goal since, you know, since we got eliminated last year. Um, right from training camp, our whole mindset was to get back here and get a know on this and um, you know, it was uh, wasn't an easy journey again, but, um, you know, we're excited and we're ready this year. Kind of like a Christmas Eve feeling right now, so, it's been a long week uh, trying to uh, you know, keep your mind off of it as much as possible and just enjoy it. I know, I guess the warm weather, be outside as much as you can, but it's hard not to think about game one and now that it's uh, finally almost here, it's it's more exciting now than earlier in the week. I'm here. I'm enjoying this this media day, you know, I enjoy, I enjoy the practice, so it's it's great to be here. Uh, it's it's great event. It's only two teams are alive still at this point and we're one of them. And it's it's it's very exciting, you know, it's June, it's a great weather. Everybody watching the hockey, you know, and everybody obviously going to watching us and another just two teams, so it's it's it's awesome. Yeah, it's exciting. Obviously, uh, big media day, lot's going on, buzz around the rink, but um, guys are just getting ready for game one.

What does that entail?

It's a big day. I don't think it entails anything different than what we've done in the previous rounds. Um, obviously, you're preparing mentally, you're scouting a little bit and getting ready for the opponents and um, just trying to get your body feeling right. Yeah, it's pretty special. Um, it's obviously super exciting and uh, you know, I can't wait for tomorrow. I think everybody's pretty anxious to get it going and uh, yeah, the anticipation of game of ours has been it's been pretty good. Yeah, I mean, uh, it's nice to look at, um, and and you want to hoist it, uh, you want to a couple of weeks here, so, it's just extra motivation. I think, you know, every time you put on your skates, you play in the NHL, you're playing for the Stanley Cup, whether that's game one of the regular season or if it's game one of the finals. So, for us, um, you know, as as much as there's a lot more attention on the finals, there's more pressure. You still want to do the same things that have made you successful all season long and and through this playoffs so far. You know, one of the things I really like about our group is everybody is of that same attitude. You know, I don't see anybody getting out of character, I don't see anybody doing something differently than they haven't done all year. And and I think that's just a maturity, uh, with our group. Yeah, I'm pretty even even keel. Um, heart's not racing really. Um, just excited to get going. Obviously, you know, uh, it's been a week off. Guys are fired up to get going, but um, for me personally, I'm going to go home, uh, enjoy some family time and um, be ready for tomorrow. Yeah, you know, 17 years ago, it was uh, you know, it's been a long time. And when you win it, your second year in the league and you have that that opportunity to to feel what it feels like, you think it's going to happen all the time. Uh, you think the same team's going to come back and you think, you know, everybody's going to be the same and but it's not that's not how it works in pro sports. You know, people change, uh, you know, new people come in and, you know, you don't take anything for granted. It took me 12 years to get back to it. And years started pile up, pile up and you never think you might never get back there. Um, but to have this opportunity again and uh, and to be here and be a part of it, it's uh, you know, it's exciting. It's uh, it's a great moment for for all of us to be in. Um, right now, the whole feeling about it is a lot of excitement, um, and just a lot of a lot of gratitude for me personally. Um, just being able to be in this moment and enjoy the whole experience of this. Uh, it's it's an experience that so many people work hard to get to. Um, so I'm just going to take it all in, uh, have a ton of fun and um, you know, just play my absolute heart out. You know, obviously, um, excited when it's over, not going to lie, but, um, uh, yeah, it's it's special to to have the opportunity to be here and and um, you know, take it all in and and and feel the buzz around around the Stanley Cup Finals and um, proud of the group, uh, come a long way, um, you know, obviously, job's job's not done. You know, we're we're looking for a Stanley Cup.