Greenville, SC—After concluding their two-game homestand against the Jacksonville Icemen, I got the chance to interview newly named captain of the Swamp Rabbits, Ben Freeman.
Now that you’re captain, how are you feeling?
“Nothing really changes – a little more responsibility as far as the “C’ from the “A’. But we have a group full of leaders, so we have all hands on deck as far as leadership goes. Obviously, it’s an honor to be named captain, and I’ve been trusted with the captain job here with such a great organization, so that’s an honor, and I’m excited to have this opportunity.”
Has it been easy to transition from alt to full captain now that you’ve played three games with the C?
“Yeah, like I said earlier, I don’t think it’s a huge difference; you’re still what made me a captain, and it’s just being myself as a person. I’m not trying to change anything; maybe speak up a little bit more when the opportunity arises. Other than that, I’m just trying to be the best version of myself every day, lead by example.”
You were alt captain for Unconn, then captain in your final season—winning an award for it—then alt captain last season for Greenville, and now captain. Was that leadership role born into you, or was it made because of years of experience playing hockey?
“Well, I have a lot to owe to my upbringing, my parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends; I was around high-quality people my entire life: teachers, coaches, and mentors. I just try to pick up on things that they do well, and I try to apply them to my leadership roles. But like I said, I just try to be the best version of myself. I’m not trying to become a leader; I’m just trying to be myself and who I am as a person. I guess it boats well for leadership. And it’s just an honour.”
What is it like, and what does it mean to lead this group?
“It’s really cool. This group is amazing. I’m really honored to be named captain of this group, especially because we have such good guys and we have an amazing team. It’s a special thing to be named a leader and on this group, so I’m honored and excited.”
What is it like to play on the PK unit, and have you always been that defensive forward player?
“I think in college, I kind of gained a more defensive or two-way center approach to my game. You know, growing up, I actually played on the wing a lot. But since college, in order to play at the next level and play more minutes, I had to adapt to a more defensive role. So, I’m just trying to help the team out on the PK; we got a pretty good PK right now – we’re trying to elevate that. It’s fun to play on the unit and help the team however I can.”
And with defense, Bednard made 42 saves today. What are your thoughts on his performance, and how will the high shots on goal differential change before next week’s road game?
“Bedzy has been amazing. He’s been really consistent the last four or five games, and that’s huge for us. Our goaltending has been amazing all year. As far as high shot totals, I would say, as long as we’re not giving up high-quality scoring chances, then it allows Bedzy to get in the game quite frankly – he gets to see pucks, he gets to save pucks. And then as long as we’re boxing out and clearing the second opportunities, if he can see the puck clearly and make a couple saves, then that might be helpful for him.”
What will change the game plan as the team heads on the road next week?
“So we go to Florida this weekend. They just had a pretty good weekend against Savannah, so I think we’re gonna have to elevate our game – we were inconsistent this weekend, so we can’t play one good period and one bad period. We need to string together three consecutive periods each game. So the consistency part and effort and intensity, we’re going to have to elevate that. As far as game plans go, the same thing goes; we’re running the same system. So we just have to elevate our commitment level.”
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