Locker Room Raw: Linus Ullmark

Locker Room Raw: Linus Ullmark

just how hard was it to to have to watch I know you you’re rooting for your friend and everything along the way but you know just having to watch so this is the thing about playing professional sports is the one of the hardest things is to be off the side um because you want the team to succeed but you want it to succeed with you as well so it’s definitely one of the hardest things um but I wasn’t alone in it obviously there’s other guys that wanted to play as well but but I thought that having the support system that I had also have the conversation that I had with people around it um I felt that I did what I could and I did what uh needed to be done I tried to care myself very professionally uh and support every single one of my fellow teammates throughout this uh this stretch was it particularly difficult hold up sorry given that what are your thoughts on your future here my future here I got one more year I’m very excited about what’s to come uh uh it’s going to be I’m going to swe the heck of a summer I’m I’m very uh motivated uh mix in with some Revenge obviously some inspiration as well but most of all excitement of what’s to come so yeah I I felt that obviously everybody thinks about you know for me personally that was a year that I wasn’t as good as I was Prior and for me though it’s all about personal growth and I learned a lot about myself in different aspects of the game and also how I am as a human being was it was it particularly difficult because you rotated all season and then when the postseason came that rotation was going no I wouldn’t say so um it’s it it wouldn’t have mattered I think it would have been tougher if I would have played most of the games leading up to the playoff and then be set aside uh in that sense of way because then you might feel entitled to play more games but at this point we had the rotation and I had a good conversations with with Bob as swall uh leading into playoffs and during the playoffs as swall in the beginning there were um if someone gets you know an upper hand or get you want to roll the hot guy obviously I wanted to do the same thing if I was playing out of my mind and doing everything that I could to stop HW and I was getting rewarded for it you know I don’t want I don’t want want to be side on the side obviously so uh in that sense would say yeah yeah have both yes and no so it’s it’s a tricky question but yeah I apologize it’s an opper topic but there’s I always talk about because you guys have two two really good goalies and that there are a lot of teams out there that that watching the playoffs that could use a really good goalie that the trade topic comes up with with you a lot is that something how much do you pay attention to it like how much do you kind of strategizing to who’s on your no trade list is is that is that a difficult thing for you to to kind of navigate oh you want the juicy stuff we all do oh yeah I know yeah you got to catch me a little bit later uh and do an exclusive if you want to get to part of that but so it’s it’s hard to not um hear it and you can’t be you know isolate yourself because then you would live in a shed in the woods and just show up here for Pride sometimes but I mean I have you guys you’re always going to ask questions you want to know what’s happening and you’re going to ask questions obviously to get to the answers that you might want but I’m not going to give you any good answers other than that so for that matter uh that’s also one of the things that was new for me this year know I never been a part of any trade talks before so that was a new experience uh was it hard yeah it was hard because you you’re very comfortable where you are you don’t want to move when you feel like you’re playing well and you have the team you have the bonds that you with in the teammates um so with that popping out now I’m not the only one that has been trade talks obviously you know there was other goenda as well that there was a lot of rumors with that they might get dealt and there might not be any opportunities for any of them uh you know and for me it’s above my pay grade as well really and I I don’t have the luxury to choose that if I could I’m probably get the same the same thing as everybody else would it don’t I want to stay and I’m going to stay but we live in a world where professional sports is you you know you got to deal with the hand you’ve been dealt with and like I said I have one more year I wouldn’t want anything else than to come back here uh get a little bit of a re revenge tour you know like I said I’m very excited motivated for what to come especially now to be on father you know at first that’s what my goal is to you know catch up on what the kiddos are doing and attend soccer practices and um enjoy life a little bit with with them um because it’s very it’s very hectic during the uh the playoffs and they get they get lost a little bit obviously during that time lenus I would think the desire to stay would be all the greater when You’ lived the scenario you did you leave Buffalo you really get your claws into the career here you win the vzna right you become you become everything you wanted to be yes the desire to stay because of that is greater I would say it’s more on the personal side that we felt that ever since we came to Boston we’ve been embraced by not only the city and you know but the team and the people that works throughout the organization like everybody has been so nice and very so you know uh caring you know lovable and we felt that ever since our day one and that makes you feel at home that makes you want to stay there and when you have that good thing behind you you don’t want to move just because you have to move or something you want to stay and that’s just how it comes down to uh it doesn’t really matter how it goes on the ice if you’re feeling that you’re uh that your life is taken care of off the side and that your family’s wall and they’re thriving and they’re enjoying their time in school and with their friends and whatever you don’t want to you know uproot them just because because like you know I think that goes to anyone that has kids and families that doesn’t matter what kind of a job you have if you feel that you know what I’m very comfortable I like it here you don’t really want to move at that point is that something people don’t understand when they when these these conversations happen people outside but it’s more than a where where you’re playing goalie question yeah and people just think that it’s just about you know playing goal and it’s that it should be easy and move and and get a contract somewhere else or whatever it’s not easy you know we play every single year and trying to prove ourself and trying to get that contract and it’s it’s you can’t take anything for granted in this league it goes really quick I mean I mean playoffs is just an example of it one day you feel like king of the world and you might be up 3-1 or three nothing and then all of a sudden it’s 33 and you game seven at your hands so it it go goes around quick you have to enjoy it um but and I wish that a lot of more people would see beyond you know just the professional side of it and see you know that we have our you know we have our family to take care of as well off the side and have to think about the decisions that we make with them as well I don’t want to put words in your mouth but it sounds like would you exercise your trade protection once again this summer because you like it here so much I mean I have my list and my list is there we’ve worked very hard for it there’s a reason for why it’s there uh and that’s something that you know the the players before me work really hard to get to a point like we have that luxury and there’s a reason why it’s there and there’s a reason why certain teams are on there and there might be personal things but that’s up to each and every player to have and what it comes from my personal things that’s something for me my family and you know my agent to deal with and take care of and I don’t have any obligations to share the reasonings or the reasons that I have certain teams on that list Jeremy said you were very supportive during this how how do you balance sort of the support for a close friend and teammate while balancing that with some maybe personal disappointment um it’s hard in the way of that you have to think about the greater good [Music] so like it’s it’s very tough in the sense of way that you want your like I said before you want your team to succeed you want to be successful because and you want the other guys to play well because that means you’re winning games and I’ve said this many times before when it comes to these sort of things when it comes to me way that we’re always going to have each other’s backs and support each other because that means if he’s playing well the team’s playing well we have a good opportunity to win you want to win the last game of the season every day every year you’re not going to be able to do it obviously but and to balance that also with personal feelings you kind of have to deal with those off the ice uh and that’s what it means being a professional that once we actually step into the ring uh would it be on a away game or at home games or whatever you have to stay professional you have to let put your pride aside and think about what’s better for the team at now and for me that was to push uh during practices be verbally there you know talk to people give each other uh some you know heads UPS or push them to become better and maybe catch them when they’re falling down or anything like that uh and I’m hoping that um once you know the season has really you know been put in the back oh I’m sorry uh put in the back of our minds that people will feel that yeah he did whatever he could from the position that he was uh put it is that when you’re saying that is that when you’re saying you learned some personal things about yourself is that part of the personal growth you’re talking about just how to compartmentalize those two sides of you that are competitive and supportive yeah because it’s very different on you actually like when you have a very clear role that you’re the backup or you’re the starter you play that role to your you know as best as you can but you know once we’re going through playing 50/50 games and you don’t really have like a clear one starter and then you go from that to a starter then it’s like okay what’s happening and it takes a while for you to realize what’s going on and then you’re still thinking that I’m going to get the next one and then you because it’s just been up deeply in grade throughout the season that I’m going to get the next one get the next one and it doesn’t matter if it’s a win or loss like I was always trying to feel like I’m going to get the next one and for me that have been a two-edged sword so I was thinking I’m gonna get the next one and I didn’t now I was all the way up here being really excited about going on and play Detroit or Toronto and I’m not and then I go down I be pissed off or sad like sh I’m about to swear again but I’m not going to do that but bummed out yeah then you go up and down and up and down and up and down and then you have the logical side of the brain where it feels like oh well there’s a reason for why he’s playing and the reasoning was that he’s playing really good hockey I really want to S again I’m feel like I’m in a role here uh I can do it can we can bleep it out yeah keep no you don’t need to bleep it out because I’m not going to do it but no but sway was playing tremendous hockey that’s what he was doing and I have to think about myself that the one of the reasons why I was not playing was because he was playing so good and not take anything away from my own know personal wealth or um Pride or confidence in my myself and instead of it would have been worse probably if he was just okay and I still wasn’t playing then probably I would felt like I was you know a really shitty goenda a performance and that was the only reasoning you know basically why I wasn’t playing any more games because you know he was probably the best golender in these uh standing Club playoffs yes and they explain that to you too right yeah no yeah we had the conversation throughout the whole thing and that’s one of the things that I really appreciate whenever we have the uh um time or feel like we have an opportunity to talk to coaches we can because it’s a very high ceiling and we have that camarad and to trusted each other mean it’s not

Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark speaks to the media at Warrior Ice Arena for End of Season Availability.