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From: The ECHL > News
Rookie Round-Up: Jimmy Mullin, Kalamazoo Wings
July 27, 2017
Every week leading up to October 13, the Rookie Round-Up will give ECHL fans the chance to get to know a rookie who has signed with an ECHL team for the 2017-18 season.
This week, the ECHL spoke with Jimmy Mullin of the Kalamazoo Wings. Mullin signed with the K-Wings for the 2016-17 season, but an injury during training camp sidelined him for the entire year. He's eagerly awaiting and preparing for his first professional game - get to know him in this Q&A!
Name: Jimmy Mullin
Age: 25
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
ECHL Team: Kalamazoo Wings
2016-17 Organization: Kalamazoo Wings (injured)
ECHL: You've had a year of experience around the Kalamazoo Wings and the community. What have you learned about this community in that time?
Jimmy Mullin: The Kalamazoo area is a very hard working area. They have a lot of teams to choose from - the Western Michigan Broncos football team was really good, the Western Michigan hockey team was really good. So it's our job to help out our team and the marketing department and go out and show everybody that "Hey, we're in town too!" I feel like our team as a whole, our Coaching Staff and Director of Public Relations/Broadcaster Joe Roberts did a great job of getting involved. Going to community events was something I enjoyed, especially since I was injured. I especially enjoyed the events with kids, so I'm happy that I was able to be a part of them. ...
ECHL: So, when the opportunity was presented to you, was it a no brainer to re-sign with Kalamazoo for the 2017-18 season?
JM: Yeah, definitely. I realized very quickly after getting hurt that if I was playing anywhere else, I may have been sent home. Right after the injury I went up to Coach Bootland and said "Hey, please don't send me home. If I would have been sent home and not part of a team, and not part of a community, I think my intrinsic motivation may have been a little hindered. I know everyone's goal is to make it to the NHL, but just being part of an atmosphere where you feel welcomed is huge. Towards the end of the season, I was asking to help with anything, even color commentating. So I helped color commentate, the team brought me on the road to do the playoff color commentating, it was a fun experience. I'll get involved with any aspect of the game, but it will be nice to actually get on the ice this season. I'm thrilled that Kalamazoo wanted me back. ...
Read more at: http://www.echl.com/rookie-round-jimmy-mullin-kalamazoo-wings
Rookie Round-Up: Ricky DeRosa, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
August 1, 2017
... This week, the ECHL spoke with Ricky DeRosa of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. He's eagerly awaiting and preparing for his first professional game - get to know him in this Q&A!
Name: Ricky DeRosa
Age: 25
Hometown: Aston, Pa.
ECHL Team: Greenville Swamp Rabbits
2016-17 Team: Penn State University (38 gp, 4g, 9a, 13 pts.) ...
ECHL: Why did you choose to sign with the Swamp Rabbits?
(Ricky DeRosa): After conversations with Coach Gratz and my entire coaching staff at Penn State, I got a strong sense of how my abilities on the ice can make an immediate impact playing for Greenville. I believe my playing style correlates extremely well with how Coach Gratz coaches so I chose to sign with the Swamp Rabbits because the opportunity; what I do with that opportunity is up to me and I look forward to getting down to Greenville and am anxious to get the season underway. ...
ECHL: How are you spending your summer?
RD: I'm originally from outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania so I am currently skating/training there for the summer at a local spot and skating with the hockey legend Jim Watson (Broad Street Bully) who has been instrumental in my development growing up. While I'm not skating or training, I'm spending as much quality time with my family and girlfriend who also live close by. If I'm not doing either one of those two things, I spend an adequate amount of time back at Penn State helping run hockey camps for smaller children while training simultaneously. Penn State has become a second home and it's a little difficult to get away from that facility (Pegula Ice Arena). If I get a little off time I love to head down to the New Jersey beaches for a day or two and pick up a cheesesteak from the city on the way home (Tony Luke's). ...
Read more at: http://www.echl.com/rookie-round-ricky-derosa-greenville-swamp-rabbits
Rookie Round-Up: Robbie Baillargeon, South Carolina Stingrays
August 8, 2017
... For this week's piece, the ECHL spoke with Robbie Baillargeon of the South Carolina Stingrays- get to know him in this Q&A!
Name: Robbie Baillargeon
Age: 23
Hometown: Enfield, CT
ECHL Team: South Carolina Stingrays
2016-17 Team: Arizona State University (28 GP, 9G, 12A, 21 PTS)
ECHL: So what made you decide to sign with the Stingrays for the 2017-18 ECHL Season?
Robbie Baillargeon: Well I know they've had a really good track record, especially recently, going to the Kelly Cup Finals two out of three years. It's very tough to do, in any league, to make the finals, especially when you have to grind it out in playoffs, so to do that, I know they have something special going on right now. I know Coach Warsofsky has done a great job and we kind of have some small connections. We went to the same prep school - obviously at different times - but we're both alumni of Cushing Academy up in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. His brother David played at Boston University - where I played for three years. I was able to meet David a couple times, so Coach and I kind of have that connection, especially with him being a New England guy too. It's always great to be around a New England guy especially in the hockey world. Also, about a week and a half before I signed, my old roommate and teammate from BU, Nick Roberto, signed with the Stingrays. I was pretty excited to see an old friend and teammate end up in the same spot I was - it will make the transition a little bit easier that I know someone, especially my former roommate who I was pretty close with. So everything just kind of seemed like the right fit with the Stingrays, and I'm looking forward to getting to work and getting started. ...
ECHL: What are you most looking forward to for you professional rookie season?
RB: I think just the lifestyle that the professionals have, just focusing on hockey. Obviously I played in college and we had class and practice and extracurricular activities sometimes on the side, so now I'll be able just to focus on hockey. I'll probably have a little bit more down time than I'm used to since I won't be taking any classes. So overall just the lifestyle, the team bonding that goes on, the road trips, and just how it's all about hockey. I know this season is going to be a lot more of a grind since we play about double the games as I played in college. I know it'll be more of a grind, but I think that's what makes the end of the year so special - you're going through that grind with your teammates and everyone's going through the same thing. So, I think, again, just the whole lifestyle that a professional season entails, I'm excited to see what comes with it. ...
Read more at: http://www.echl.com/rookie-round-up-robbie-baillargeon
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