San Jose Sharks Stefan Noesen Interview (Ep 102)

00:03 - I’m Aaron and I will be solo tonight. So this is episode 102 and we are here with a special guest: Stefan Noesen of the San Jose Sharks.

00:12 - Uh, thank you, Stefan –er Stefan for joining tonight’s show.

00:16 - It’s going to be, uh, a cool little interview episode we got going on.

00:19 - Appreciate your time. Stefan Noesen: Yup.

00:22 - Aaron Sholl: Um, so just a little intro for you.

00:24 - Uh, Stefan was born and grew up playing hockey in Texas.

00:28 - He was drafted by Ottawa. 21st overall in the first round, uh, in 2011.

00:33 - Uh, he quickly became a fan favorite in San Jose and, uh, has a really cool goal song of Hakuna Matata, which I’m sure you get a lot of, uh, flak for.

00:44 - Um, you were also selected for Team USA World Juniors, but I don’t think you were able to play because you had a suspension that carried over which, whatever he didn’t need it, Stefan Noesen: Yeah, I guess.

01:01 - Aaron Sholl: And to add to your milestones, you are our first ever current roster player to be on our show.

01:07 - So thank you. So the San Jose Sharks team was away from San Jose for a pretty much over a month, right? It was like 35-36 days.

01:25 - What kind of, uh, mental and physical toll was that on you guys? Stefan Noesen: Um, it was pretty difficult, honestly.

01:32 - Uh, I think it was more of the uncertainty was really the driving factor.

01:36 - Um, we were getting updates on a daily basis, whether or not, uh, we’d be coming back here or not.

01:42 - Uh, I, you know, for the first little bit knowing that we were going to be in Arizona, it wasn’t too bad.

01:48 - Um, but then, like I said, when you start not understanding when you know, you’re going to be able to get your family back or see them again, that was kind of the, the most difficult part.

01:57 - And then, you know, as, as you guys everyone’s been paying attention to, uh, the minute that we found out we could get home, we came home immediately.

02:04 - Um, so that was, that was definitely the most difficult part of it.

02:09 - Aaron Sholl: I’m sure that felt great, too.

02:11 - Stefan Noesen: Yeah. Aaron Sholl: Uh, who is your roommate on this trip and who was it last year? Is that the same person? Stefan Noesen: Uh, we don’t have roommates.

02:19 - So, um, if you’re off your entry level, uh, contract, you don’t ever have a roommate.

02:25 - But this year, I think it’s special occasions, uh, for everybody involved.

02:30 - So you’re not around anybody else outside of the rink.

02:32 - So it’s, uh, I don’t think there’s any roommates this year at all.

02:37 - Aaron Sholl: Did you have one last year? Stefan Noesen: Uh, no, no.

02:39 - Aaron Sholl: No, because you kind of bounced up down.

02:42 - Got it. Stefan Noesen: Oh, no, I haven’t been on my entry level contract.

02:45 - Oh man. Like eight years almost Aaron Sholl: Just entry level all the time.

02:50 - Stefan Noesen: It’s been a while. Yeah.

02:53 - Aaron Sholl: Um, alright. Back in San Jose, what is going to be your first non-hotel dinner after returning? I guess you’re getting food right now, right? Stefan Noesen: Yeah, we we’ve been here for a couple of days now.

03:03 - Um, I don’t even know what we ordered first.

03:06 - Uh, I mean, it’s kinda been a blur of the past three or four days here.

03:12 - Um, maybe Mendocino Farms is one of the, uh, over here in Santana Row.

03:18 - Aaron Sholl: That’s really good. Stefan Noesen: Yeah, I think we were there probably twice, now.

03:22 - Aaron Sholl: Is that your go-to meal? Kind of? Stefan Noesen: No, I don’t have a go-to meal.

03:27 - Aaron Sholl: No? Stefan Noesen: I’d much rather cook, but we can’t really go to the grocery stores either.

03:30 - So waiting three days for your steak to get delivered is not exactly ideal.

03:35 - Aaron Sholl: Terrible. Fans will be happy to deliver some stuff on your doorstep.

03:40 - Stefan Noesen: Yeah right? Aaron Sholl: Um, so what is your game day routine? Has it changed because of COVID compared to before COVID? Stefan Noesen: Uh, no.

03:51 - Um, I mean, on the road is obviously different than being home.

03:54 - But, um, game day routine stuff is pretty, uh, it’s pretty simple.

04:01 - Um, we go from going to the rink, having breakfast, to having to you know, skate, maybe.

04:08 - Do pregame skate or just get some sort of in.

04:11 - And then, uh, you know, you go to usually go to a restaurant Maggiano’s [Little Italy] or we go to Aldo’s [Ristorante], or I don’t know whoever else some guys go.

04:19 - And, uh, but instead of doing that, I think they’re gonna have some meals for us at the rink, which is good.

04:25 - And then the rest of time and I just kind of stay at home.

04:27 - So it’s pretty, uh, it’s pretty easy. Aaron Sholl: Nice.

04:31 - Does that mean you’re getting to the rink earlier because you’re going to be eating there? Stefan Noesen: Uh, no, I mean, we, we at like noon.

04:38 - Somewhere around then. Then snack before we go to the rink around four.

04:43 - Aaron Sholl: So you go home and take a nap, a little pre-game nap.

04:46 - Stefan Noesen: Sometimes, I don’t really know how much we’ll be sleeping with my daughter here, but we’ll find out.

04:54 - Aaron Sholl: Well, we’ll get to that, yeah.

04:55 - Uh, was it difficult to bond as a team because of COVID and the way that they have you guys separated with everything, it’s a little different kind of a road trip than normal, right? Stefan Noesen: Yeah.

05:05 - Um, I think it’s just, it’s about being smart.

05:08 - Um, you know, making sure that you, uh, you know, just take care of yourself to keep yourself, uh, sanitized and, you know, maybe not touch things or be around, uh, guys as much as you kind of wish.

05:19 - Uh, um, so I guess in that regard, it makes it a little difficult, but you, you find ways to, to interact with everybody and you know, and like I said, as long as you’re kind of keeping your distance from, from guys and, uh, it’s kinda, it’s kinda okay to have a conversation with them, at least I believe so.

05:36 - But yeah, I don’t make the rules. Aaron Sholl: Talk about your coach Bob Boughner.

05:43 - Um, was there a difference in Bob from when he took over kind of like when you first came on the team versus now, since he’s kind of established and been here and was able to do a training camp with everybody, Stefan Noesen: Um, Yes, and no, I mean, Bogie’s boogie, I’ve known him for, since I was 16, he was coaching in Windsor, um, in the OHL.

06:06 - So I’ve known him for a long time. I think it’s his style is kind of the exact same as what it was last year.

06:12 - Um, I think just, we have a little more structure to our game.

06:15 - Um, but I’d say overall, I mean, he’s still the same guy.

06:19 - He is, uh, you know, uh, I like him as a coach.

06:22 - Uh, you know, no matter, no matter whether I’m playing or I’m not right now, um, you know, he’s, he’s a good coach and, uh, you know.

06:30 - I think guys, guys seem to gravitate towards them, which is good.

06:34 - Aaron Sholl: Was he part of the reason you were able to get claimed by San Jose and come here, do you think he had a role in that at all? Stefan Noesen: I honestly don’t know.

06:42 - Um, I don’t know the answer to that question, but he was definitely one of the reasons why I came back.

06:47 - Aaron Sholl: Nice. Yeah. You did sign back here, which is fantastic.

06:50 - Stefan Noesen: Yep. Aaron Sholl: Um, uh, another question about the taxi squad system.

06:55 - Do you see an advantage of having a taxi squad system versus just a, we would normally it’s about three scratches a night.

07:01 - It’s kind of like a way you can do more scratches, I guess you can, in a way.

07:06 - You think there’s an advantage, like you get to heal up some bumps and bruises because the schedule is so compact this year compared to a normal one? Stefan Noesen: Yeah.

07:13 - But that’s, that’s a hard question to answer because, uh, you know, most of the guys that are going to be on the taxi squad are guys that would typically play, uh, you know, or would want to play in the minors.

07:24 - Right? And so that’s kind of. It’s a very tricky question to answer because, um, you know, the guys that are in the lineup right now and the guys that we have on our “13 man, 23 man roster,” uh, you know, those are, the guys are gonna probably be playing the games for the most part.

07:40 - Um, you know, there’s obviously injuries and whatnot.

07:42 - It’s nice to have them, uh, have, have access to them right away.

07:46 - Um, but I don’t know if it’s, uh, an added benefit of her it’s if it doesn’t make a difference.

07:52 - Uh, I don’t, I don’t really know. Um, I would say probably if anything, it helps us, but, uh, I don’t think there’s a [inaudible] that.

08:00 - Aaron Sholl: Cool. Uh, another question about your playing with Patrick Marleau.

08:04 - Is it weird to be playing with a living legend? Like Patrick Marleau and like Jumbo last year? Yeah? Stefan Noesen: Yeah.

08:12 - It’s weird. I, uh, I had a very interesting, uh, text conversation with him the other day.

08:17 - And I didn’t really mean to text him, but I’m not going to tell you guys what it was.

08:21 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah. Stefan Noesen: It was really wierd.

08:22 - It was very awkward. And I, I have to, like, I had to apologize to him for sending him a message.

08:31 - Aaron Sholl: One of those, I think we’ve all had one of those before.

08:33 - Stefan Noesen: Yeah. And it really wasn’t even that bad.

08:35 - It was just very– put me in a weird spot because I didn’t mean to text him.

08:40 - Aaron Sholl: Nice. It’s kind of weird cause you were four years old when he was drafted in the NHL.

08:46 - Stefan Noesen: Yep. Aaron Sholl: Just for some context for you.

08:49 - Stefan Noesen: Well, he was, he’s older than some of the guys, like he’s been playing longer than some of these guys who even been born.

08:57 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah. Stefan Noesen: Which is just a cra– which is even crazier.

08:59 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah. Especially, I mean, the kids that are getting drafted now are born after 2000.

09:03 - Stefan Noesen: Right. Aaron Sholl: Which is mind boggling to me.

09:07 - Stefan Noesen: Yeah, it just means we’re getting old.

09:09 - That’s all that means. Aaron Sholl: Yeah, it is.

09:11 - Um, all right, let’s move on to the important stuff here.

09:15 - Um, your daughter is just over two months old, three months old now, right? Stefan Noesen: Yep.

09:21 - Aaron Sholl: Um, is dad life more or less difficult than you imagined? Stefan Noesen: Um, ah, man, it’s.

09:32 - It’s crazy because in the beginning it’s just getting used to it.

09:36 - It’s getting, The understanding up kind of what life is going to be.

09:42 - Um, you know, one thing that I realized, and I think I kind of have to make sure my wife understands is that like each day is different.

09:50 - Like you can’t just plan what’s going to happen.

09:52 - Cause it just doesn’t ever work in your favor.

09:55 - So if you have a set goal and the set, you know, mindset going into it that, you know, she’s just…

10:02 - Like, like my wife is very structured and very likes things a certain way.

10:06 - And with, I keep trying to tell her, like, the baby is not going to like listen to what you want.

10:12 - Like she’s going to do whatever she wants to do.

10:15 - At least for now until we’re, you know, she’s able to talk and speak and we can kind of, I don’t want to say train her, but like kind of guide her in the right direction.

10:22 - Um, so it’s taken, it’s taken her a little bit of time to adjust to that.

10:26 - And I think she started to understand it a little bit, but, uh, I would say that’s probably the most difficult part is just, you know, you really want to be able to help them and understand them and they can’t let you know whatever they need.

10:37 - So that’s just the most difficult part. Aaron Sholl: Yeah, I know what you mean.

10:40 - I got two kids and I got a third one on the way in another two weeks right now.

10:44 - Stefan Noesen: Oh boy! Aaron Sholl: Yeah.

10:47 - It’s going to be crazy in my house. Stefan Noesen: Right? Aaron Sholl: Three months old though.

10:52 - I think that’s probably one of my, one of my favorite ages because that’s kind of when the baby starts to interact more with the dad than just the mom.

11:00 - Stefan Noesen: Right. Aaron Sholl: I mean in the first few months, I feel like I’m just there to support my wife.

11:04 - And I’m not really doing anything else. Stefan Noesen: Right, yeah.

11:07 - My, um, my wife couldn’t breastfeed, so, uh, I was actually able to, to help feed her and take care of her, which is kind of nice.

11:14 - It ah some, uh, relieved some stress from her, which was good.

11:18 - But I even like FaceTiming right now. It’s like, I FaceTime her two, three times a day and she’s actually like looking at the phone, hears my voice.

11:25 - Kind of recognizes like my face. Well, so I think.

11:29 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah. Stefan Noesen: But, uh, it’s pretty, it’s pretty cool.

11:31 - It’s, it’s very, obviously we haven’t seen each other in a couple months, so.

11:36 - It’s been about a month, so it’s pretty, it’s pretty difficult, but, um, you know, hopefully get a chance to see them here soon.

11:43 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah. So you’re quarantining right now, since you guys got back? Stefan Noesen: Uh, yeah.

11:47 - We’re, I mean, I wouldn’t really call it quarantining.

11:51 - We’re just kind of going to meet every day and coming home.

11:54 - And, uh, I don’t think we had any guidelines to make us quarantine here, which was good.

11:58 - I think they were able to waive that. Aaron Sholl: Yep.

12:00 - Stefan Noesen: Um, just so we can go to the rink and practice and whatnot.

12:03 - So, um, yeah, we’re just kind of hanging out.

12:06 - Really not doing much. Aaron Sholl: Nice.

12:09 - That sounds like fun time. Stefan Noesen: No, it’s not, not at all.

12:15 - Aaron Sholl: All right. We’re going to play a little game here.

12:17 - It’s called the dad life game. Stefan Noesen: Oh boy.

12:19 - Aaron Sholl: And can you, uh, three things.

12:23 - You’re going to go out to dinner in six seconds.

12:24 - Can you name three things you need to bring when you’re going out to dinner with the whole family? Stefan Noesen: A diaper bag, diapers and baby wipes.

12:33 - Aaron Sholl: What about the baby? Stefan Noesen: And you need that too, but she’s part of the family.

12:38 - Aaron Sholl: Right? That’s true. That’s true.

12:39 - Okay. Now you got me on that one. Stefan Noesen: There you go.

12:42 - Aaron Sholl: All right. How about, uh, lullabies? Can you name three lullabies or sing them? Stefan Noesen: I haven’t sang them yet.

12:48 - So I haven’t– Aaron Sholl: No? Nothing? Stefan Noesen: Nope.

12:49 - Aaron Sholl: I don’t know if I, I don’t think I did much singing, maybe some Raffi songs, but, uh, I would just sing.

12:56 - I’m a big AC/DC fan. I would just sing lyrics to AC/DC, some Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and– Stefan Noesen: Yep.

13:02 - Aaron Sholl: They didn’t know the difference.

13:03 - It works. It was great. It’s fantastic.

13:06 - Stefan Noesen: Baby got back. It’s all you need.

13:08 - Aaron Sholl: Yep. And they’ll like it and they’ll grow up with it.

13:12 - Uh, all right. Name three teammates that you would trust watching Leighton for 24 hours, Stefan Noesen: Oh.

13:20 - Oh. 24 hours. Not Timo. Aaron Sholl: Is he standing right there? Can he hear you? Stefan Noesen: No, he just, he just went to get food.

13:30 - Um, All right. Let me think. Uh, I’d say Cooch.

13:35 - Couture would be one of them. Aaron Sholl: Wow.

13:37 - Stefan Noesen: Mainly because Brielle. Not because, not because of Logan himself.

13:43 - Um, Tommy [Tomas Hertl] obviously, cause he’s a, he’s a dad now, so that’s easy.

13:51 - Aaron Sholl: Yep. Uh huh. Stefan Noesen: Uh, and then, oh man.

13:55 - Third one. Third one. Could probably let, uh, oh, I think obvious choice is Patty here [Patrick Marleau].

14:00 - Patty’s got four of them by himself. So.

14:02 - Aaron Sholl: Yeah, he’s an expert, although he’s no expert on girls, he’s got four boys.

14:06 - Right? Stefan Noesen: True. But Christina’s there.

14:09 - So we’re good. Aaron Sholl: Yeah you’ll be fine.

14:12 - Stefan Noesen: We’re good. Aaron Sholl: All right.

14:14 - Uh, that’s gonna wrap up our show. So thank you for joining us and be sure to tell your coworkers about us, right? Stefan Noesen: Yeah, I will.

14:22 - Absolutely. Aaron Sholl: Awesome. Well, thank you for your time and, uh, we will see you later.

14:27 - Stefan Noesen: All right. Take care.

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