Q&Anthony with Kyle Dann
Interview Featuring Albertus Magnus Commit
HOOKSETT, NH -- The New Hampshire Avalanche is in its sixth season of operation, and they are already one of the more decorated franchises in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).
They won championships in each of their first two years, and since then made two more appearances in the Frozen Finals.
Plenty of great players have suited up for the Avs, and second-year forward Kyle Dann is one of them. When joining the EHL last season, Dann recorded nine points (4g, 5a) in 26 regular-season games. In the postseason, he exploded offensively with six goals in six games, leading New Hampshire past the Seacoast Spartans and New England Wolves en route to the Frozen Finals in Providence.
In this edition of Q&Anthony, Dann talks about his time with the Avalanche’s youth and junior programs, growing up with his younger brother, Ryan, and turning the team’s regular-season success into another championship.
You’ve played with the New Hampshire Avalanche’s program for seven seasons now. Can you talk a little bit about your time with the youth program and eventual transition to juniors?
I came to the Avalanche when I was in U14, and I’ve been with them ever since. It’s a great spot to play, I’m not too far from home, I know the owner pretty well, Mario Martiniello, he coached me when I was younger. Moving up to juniors can always be tough a transition, but I had known (Avs head coach) Chris Cerrella before then, and I knew a bunch of players that I played with when I was younger who also went through the Avs program, so it made it an easier transition to juniors.
When you play under the same program, are the systems and style of play the same? Does that make the transition easier?
Yeah, I think so. I’ve been watching my brother (Ryan) play for the Avalanche youth team, so I’ve been watching a lot 18u hockey compared to the EHL. I do think 18’s is a little more individual though, juniors is more of a team game and everyone wants to play together rather than doing things individually.
There’s another Dann playing for the Avalanche?
I’ve got a younger brother in his second year of 18’s. He started playing in his 16’s season, so not as long as me, but he might be playing juniors full time, so who knows? He’s a good player, and he played some games for the Avs Premier team this season.
What was it like playing hockey with Ryan growing up?
Ryan’s a defenseman and I’ve always been taller than him, up until a few years ago. Now he’s got a few inches on me. We build a rink in our backyard every year and we’d always play some 1-on-1 games, and we got pretty intense. We’d go at it, maybe fight a little bit, so yeah he’s going to be a good player and see if he’ll stick with the Avs next year. I’m excited to see what he does.
I want to hear more about these intense backyard games. Any broken windows or damages throughout the years? Any specific memories?
No broken windows, but sticks were thrown, and I don’t know if I got hit but we would fight. Our parents would have to come up and yell at us. We try not to, but we’d argue a little bit, the other one would go down and quit for the day, but ultimately I think it just made us better. Just playing those 1 v 1 games made both of us better.
Last year in your first season with the EHL team, you had an incredible run with six goals in seven playoff games. Was there anything that just clicked for you leading to that playoff run?
Last season was a grind, I was in and out of the lineup most of the year, but I just kept working at it, staying in the gym, kept working out and work to prove where I belong and kind of out-work others. Then I got my shot late in the season before the playoffs, and I was lucky enough to play with (Matt) Carlson and (Aden) Hotckiss, who are both unbelievable players. They made it kind of easy, and I tried to help them out as much as I could.
We know Hotchkiss can rack up a ton of assists. Is there any one part of his game not too many people recognize? What exactly makes him so special to play with?
I think his first instinct is to always look for another guy. I mean, he's unbelievable in the corners, one-on-one battles, he is always going to win those. He's able to shake off guys, he's just got moves. He's able to shake guys, make them miss and create scoring chances for other players. But now this year he's racking up the goals too.
In that postseason, the Avs fell short with losses against the New England Wolves and Express Hockey Club. What were some lessons you took away from Providence last year?
You can have the best players on the team, but I think it's just key to stay close. And by that, I mean you're going to work with the same guys every day, so it's big to stay close to everyone and work together. Keep battling every day and eventually it will pay off in the long run.
You, Hotchkiss and goaltender Shane Paremba have led the Avs to another dominant season, what other factors would you say helped the Avs this time around?
We don't have many returners; we have a lot of new guys and I think that was the main goal right off the bat; to make sure everyone was on the same page and know how to play for Cerrella and know how to be an Avalanche player. It's about working together, and while everyone wants a college commitment, we also want to win the whole league.
How did you manage to get those new players acclimated to the junior level?
We came to training camp pretty early and we stuck around each other. We would hang out and get pretty close and know everyone, and by the time we got on the ice, we were just gelling and it was easy for everyone to buy into the process, knowing that it's going to take some effort. It's also just trusting Cerrella and trusting the program.
Is there any particular difference between this year's team and last year's team?
I don't know, I thought we had a pretty good team last year, and I was a little scared that we weren't going to have as good of a team this year. But I think overall, we kept the guys who were buying into the process and wanting to win the whole thing this year, and I think that's huge for our culture around the rink. It's keeping guys positive and keeping us close together.
You said earlier the best team or the best players don't always win it all. The Avs are the best team in the league right now, how do you take that next step in the postseason?
Playing with leads is huge. Closing out games was one thing we struggled with last year, and this year I think we're a lot better closing out games. Just treating every game like it's a playoff game, no matter who is in the lineup, just playing as hard as you can and if we're up by three goals, just keep going.
Last question; you’ve essentially spent your entire hockey career in your home state. Is there anything in particular you like about New Hampshire?
We get all four seasons, though this year hasn't been great for our ice rink in the backyard. But it's fun playing just 25 minutes away from home, which is where I've always played. I really enjoy playing with the same guys growing up. Most of my friends are local, and Andrew Wolszyn lives five minutes away from me.
When it comes to Andrew, I've known him since 5th grade, and we played together in 16's. Then he went to prep school here in New Hampshire for the next two years, and then he came back last year. So for the past two years we've been playing together, so it’s nice being able to reunite with him and hopefully we can win a championship together.
