Earlier today, Taylor Hall joined me on TSN 1260 to discuss moving to New Jersey and how he feels two months after the trade.

Jason Gregor: You’ve had two months to

digest the trade, what is your mindset a few weeks away from heading into New

Jersey?

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Taylor Hall: I’m just focused on finishing

off the summer well; going into the season healthy is a huge part. You just

touched on an NFL player getting hurt just before the season starts. You want

to make sure that everything goes smoothly there, and we were just chatting

before we got on the air, there is a lot of stuff that I have to deal with

before I get down there (he has to move out of his house in Edmonton and his place

in Windsor this week). Just being a grownup kind of sucks sometimes (laughs), but

I’m looking forward to getting down there and most of all I’m just looking

forward to playing hockey because that’s what I’m brought there to do.

Gregor:

At the time of the trade you felt like you kind of had Edmonton taken away from

you. And then I saw an interview on Sportsnet last week where you mentioned

that it was kind of like a breakup. I thought that that was a pretty good

analogy. Obviously you have a lot of close friends on the team and suddenly

they don’t want you anymore and you have to move on. How do you move on?

Hall: Well, it’s tough right now because I

really haven’t played any hockey. I haven’t played a game in a Devil’s sweater.

I think once that happens, once training camp starts and I get to know the

players and the organization and I start getting familiar with the Eastern

Conference then I think that it will be just like another game, another team

that I’m playing for. But you know I watched all of my interviews during the BioSteel

camp and everyone always asks me about Edmonton, they never ask me about New

Jersey, so it seems like I’m complaining the whole time and I’m crying myself

to sleep every night, which I’m not, of course. I’m looking forward to what I

can do in Jersey for sure.

Gregor: WIth the Oilers there wasn’t much success overall, but as a team you had more success

against Eastern teams. I’m not saying it

is easy playing against the East, but you had good numbers against them, so do

you think the chance of success will be even better for you in New Jersey?

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Hall: There are a lot of positives to it.

Like you said, the East, it’s not an easier style of hockey by any means, but I

just feel like the teams in the East have an easier travel schedule, the season

isn’t as compressed for them it seems like. I’m looking forward to it. It’s

going to be different hockey a little bit, they play a bit less heavy of a

game, but I’m still going to play against the top D pairings, the top lines

every night and I’m looking forward to that.

Gregor: You had to move your house,

something that you’ve never really had to deal with. Are there many moving parts

of a trade that maybe catch you off-guard after the fact rather than after the

initial shock? How has it been dealing with the aftershocks of the trade?

Hall: Yeah, definitely. I’m glad I’m twenty

four now and I feel I’m a lot more mature than when I came to Edmonton as an

eighteen-year old, so I’m more prepared for what I have to do and where I want

to live, and the type of situation I want to be in.

But certainly getting traded is a lot more

than just trading jerseys. There is a lot more that comes with it. I’m lucky

that I have a good support staff to help out with that, and the staff in Jersey

has been incredible just helping me to move along and getting me accustomed to

what is going to happen there as quickly as possible.

DEVILS

Gregor: When they flew you into New Jersey did

you have a sit down meeting with the coach and the GM. What did you discuss?

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Hall: Yeah, they took me out to breakfast

just before my fan event there. It was pretty casual, it definitely wasn’t

talking systems or play or anything like that it was more just getting to know

me as a person. That’s the kind of stuff that makes you feel comfortable going

into the season. So I appreciate that a lot and it was nice to go to Jersey,

find a place to live, tour around Newark and Hoboken a little bit. I’m looking

forward to it. It’s a different team; there is no doubt about it. I thought

there would be a media conference, but there wasn’t too much media there that

day. So it was a different atmosphere there that way.

Gregor: There is that, and some players

love it, some players find it’s tough to go to a non-hockey market. It kind of

depends on your personality. Any idea on how you are going to react to being in

a place where there is not as much media attention and maybe not as much fandom,

compared to everywhere you went in Edmonton the fans knew who you were and the

majority of them were very polite? Is that a good thing, or will you miss being

in a hockey mad market?

Hall: No, I’m definitely going to miss that

for sure and that was one of the best things about Edmonton, how much they

cared about hockey and the passion that they had. Sometimes it can get a little

bit overwhelming, but I think as a whole I really enjoyed that experience. But

I’m looking forward to, I wouldn’t say that it’s a non hockey market because

they show a lot of passion, it’s just different. There are so many other sports

teams in the area that get coverage. It’s going to be a little bit easier to

blend in. So I’m looking forward to that part of it. At the end of the day, I’m

there to play hockey and do that the best I can.

Gregor: Last year New Jersey was the lowest

scoring team in the league, obviously it’s pretty clear what your role is going

to be when you get there, produce points, what about being a leader? How much

more prepared are you to be a leader having played six seasons? Have you talked

to anybody about how you go into a new environment where in Edmonton basically

for the last three years you and Jordan Eberle were the two longest serving

Oilers?

Hall: For sure, it’s something that I’m not

really fully prepared for. I haven’t really thought about it or set out a game

plan for it, but I just want to come in and play the best hockey that I can and

then everything else is just going to sort itself out. I don’t know the

dynamics in the locker room. I don’t know if they have a loud group, or a quiet

group or anything like that. I think that it’s a bit too much to ask for a guy

to come in and to change the culture immediately, so I’m not going to try to do

that. I’m going to try to play the best hockey that I can, get to know my

teammates as camp goes along, and just go from there.

Gregor: Adam Henrique is the one guy that

you know very well; you two had a lot of success in Junior. I saw him tweeting

at you right away, so there is that comfort level. Is there anyone else you’ve

played with or have trained with in the summer?

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Hall: Well I have Gazzy [Luke Gazdic] there

now as well. I’ve met [Michael] Cammalleri a few times. Devante Smith-Pelly was

at the Biosteel camp last week so there are four or five guys that I know, and I

have a bit of a relationship with. Hockey is a pretty small community so even

if you’ve never met a guy face to face, you kind of know what he’s all about

and hear what kind of guy he is etcetera, etcetera. I’ve heard nothing but good things about that

locker room, the guys, including the players they’ve signed this summer. I’m a

shy guy by nature, that’s why I’m going to try to let my play do the talking,

at least to start and then I’ll figure it out after that.

PLAYER VS. PERSON

Gregor: Interesting that you mention that

because when fans see you on the ice they see a guy going a hundred miles an

hour who is a fairly emotional player, but then off of the ice, a lot of people

would expect you to be a gregarious, loud guy, similar to your on- ice

personality. Do you sense some people might misread you because of how you are

as a player compared to how you are as a person?

Hall: Yeah, I get that. Edmonton was a

tremendous hockey market and there are some guys who are just born to know how

to deal with strangers and fans and stuff like that, but that was something I

really had to get used to once I got to Edmonton. I think I’m certainly a lot

more outgoing than when I first got there and that’s just growing up. I was

eighteen when I got to Edmonton and I was maybe a little bit immature, just

like any eighteen year old is, but I felt I’ve grown up a lot and I’m more used

to dealing with that kind of stuff. I’m

definitely not as nervous or anxious as I would be going into a new locker room

when I was eighteen for sure.

Gregor: When you look at yourself, what do

you feel has been the biggest area where you’ve matured and changed compared to

when you came to Edmonton in 2010?

Hall: Um… I don’t know, that’s a tough

question. I think overall as a player I’ve certainly gotten better. Defensively

I think that I’ve taken some strides and I still have some areas of the game that

I really want to improve on. I think when you look at New Jersey and what they

have done well lately is their defensive play, the way that they play in their

own end. That’s the biggest thing at the start of training camp. I want to

assimilate myself as quickly as possible into that system. Obviously I’m going

to try to inject as much offense as I can, but one of the things that I really

want to improve on that I haven’t been good at in the past couple of years is

my power play. I feel I have a lot more to give on that end of the ice and I

think that I have the five on five game down; I think that I do a pretty good

job there. But I think that I can contribute more on the power play. They had a

good power play last year so I want to be a part of that as quickly as

possible.

Gregor: How do you improve as a power play

player?

Hall: I don’t know, that’s what I have to figure

out. One of the things I do so well offensively at five-on-five is attack and I

have to find out a way to do that the best I can on the power play. I certainly

had some good seasons, production wise, on the power play, but the last couple I

just really haven’t done as well at it. I think that that has hindered me even

going into my five-on-five game a little bit; it just takes away from your

confidence. So I have to figure that part out.

Gregor: I have Adam Oates on the show and

he talks about guys can play fast but on the power play everything is a little

bit slower. The plays develop a little bit slower. You’re a guy who excels when

the game is fast so is changing your pace of play on the PP something you need

to work on? I don’t know if you can work on that in the summer or is it something

you work on once you get on the ice in training camp?

Hall: Yeah, I think that that’s something you

develop chemistry with guys on the power play. You look at the best units in

the league and they are units that have been together for years and years. San

Jose, Washington, those guys have been on there for a long time so getting used

to the players around you is important as well. I’m going to watch some videos

in the next few weeks and during training camp to figure out how I can maximize

that part of my game (speed) because I think it’s a huge part now. Any

advantage that you can get in a game five-on-five you’ll take, but if you can

elevate your special teams, that’s what really can win or lose you some games.

Gregor: Adam Oates has a lot more guys

working with him this summer, and Jordan Eberle was talking about how he was

working with a shooting coach this summer, have you looked at getting an individual skills

coach?

Hall: Yeah, possibly. I played ninety-seven

games last year including the Worlds and exhibition so I played a lot of hockey

and to be honest, I’ve only been on the ice I think nine times this summer. Right

now, I’m more focused on being the best athlete I can be going into the season.

I know I have a long training camp ahead of me and it’s not about how you start

the season, it’s how you finish it. I think if I can go into the season being

the best athlete, the strongest athlete I can, I’m going to get my game through

training camp and the exhibition and I’ll be good to go and finish strong.

TRADE THOUGHTS

Gregor: You’ve had a few months to

experience your first trade. What did you learn about you the person having

gone through the entire process?

Hall: I’ve learned a lot, I mean, I think

that my scenario is a bit different than other people. I was the first, first overall

pick in the franchise’s history. I think you become attached to a team and city

when it happens; there are no two ways about it. What I’ve learned is that

hockey is a business and I’ve learned that no matter what you think is going to

happen, you always have to be prepared for something else. It’s funny, I don’t

blame anyone in the organization for trading me, but I certainly didn’t think that

it was going to happen and I think that just goes to show you at the end of the

day, we’re all just kind of a number and we can be traded, we can be bought, we

can be sold, and at the end of the day it’s what you do on the ice and how well

you play that determines if that’s going to happen or not. It has been interesting to see it and to go

through it firsthand and I think it could end up being the best thing that’s

happened to me.

Gregor: I’ve had many Oilers fans wonder,

and I realize it’s a long ways away, but when you’re a UFA in four years would

you contemplate signing in Edmonton?

Hall: No, I don’t think that I would.

Gregor: I’ve always appreciated you’re very

honest and rather than give the sit on the fence answer you’ll answer directly.

I appreciate that.

Hall: Right now my focus is Jersey and

playing my four years there, but I don’t think that I would come back.

Gregor: I often talk on the show that once

you break up rarely does it work out when you try it the second time again. Is

that kind of how you would see it with the Oilers?

Hall: Yeah, I think that that is a good

analogy. I think I gave it a good run and I don’t have any regrets about what

happened, but I certainly think that I’m focused on what I can do in Jersey,

its’ so far away but I don’t think that. Maybe if something comes up I’ll

change my mind, but I don’t think so. I did my time there and it’s time to move

on.

Gregor: At the end of the season you mentioned

Connor McDavid was the guy who was going to lead the team. You had the chance

to know him better than most because you lived with him. How different was it

having the guy who was a franchise player in most people’s eyes, a generational

player, and he chose to live with you? What did you learn from living with

McDavid last year?

Hall: You know what, he’s a great kid and

we had a really great time together. I learned just as much from him as maybe

he learned from me. I learned just how much expectation he had and just how he

has gone through his entire career without any blemishes at all. I think that’s

pretty impressive. Like I said, we just had a good time together. It was fun

going to the rink; it was fun when we were in the lineup together. There was

maybe a bit of inner competition, which is good, but he’s one of those guys

that when you get traded you certainly root for afterwards.

Gregor: Everyone knows New Jersey is the lowest

scoring team in the NHL. You’ve had a lot of pressure, if you want to call it

that, being the number one overall pick, trying to turn around a franchise. But

you go to New Jersey, who have had a lot of success the last twenty years, with

multiple Stanley Cup appearances and wins, but they’ve never been known as a

good offensive team. You talk about wanting to improve your defense, how do you

do that while at the same time producing a lot of offence?

Hall: I’m expecting that too. I have a lot

of confidence in my offensive game. I know that I am going to be there to

produce and do my job. Not my main focus, but definitely one of the things that

I want to do is to hold my end of the bargain on the defensive end for sure.

Gregor: Thanks for coming on and good luck

when you return to Edmonton in January.

Hall: Thanks, do I play in Edmonton before

I play in Jersey?

Gregor: The Oilers come to New Jersey

before you come to Edmonton. Do you think that is better?

Hall: Yeah I think that’s a lot better to

play the team before I have to go back to Edmonton. Actually one of the best

things is that I don’t have to go back and play in Rexall Place, it’s a brand

new building. I won’t have any

memories of that rink and so I think that that makes it a bit easier.

Gregor:

(Smiles) Will you want to take a run at Eberle?

Hall: Um (laughs)… Yeah, I mean, that’s

going to be a weird night and I’m going to be pretty fired up for that one.



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