Off The Ice...With Derek Roy!

He's new to the Dallas scene. Acquired for longtime fan-favorite Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. Slowly coming into his own in his new surroundings. On the heels of a tough 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames Derek Roy stopped by to 'Hang w/ Mr. Will' and address the 'Blitz' accordingly.

After an 8 year stay in Buffalo can you talk about what the transition has been like?

'Oh, it's been great. I mean, a first class organization all the way. Coming here and getting to meet the coaching staff, all of the players and the fans has been a great experience.'

You're now at about the quarter mark of the season. This game notwithstanding your team had won of 6 of 8. It looks like the team is slowly starting to jell collectively. What's changed?

'We had an array of injuries to start the season and guys missing games. We had a new bunch of guys coming in. Jamie Benn not starting the season with us. The lines were being juggled around a lot, yet once we knew what works we started working together as a team. Things then started coming through.

You (The Stars) have just completed a stretch of playing 10 of 14 games on the road. Now you're back for a stretch of home games...That's got to be a good feeling.

'Yeah, we have to get the points at home and use the crowd to our advantage. We have to work as a team at home. Staying out of the box, paying attention to the little things, do well on special teams. So, yeah it's good to be back home. That was a long stretch of games, it's good to be back home and sleep in your own bed and ready to play.

Kind of a weird Deja Vu. Friday in Vancouver you overcome a 3-1 deficit to win on the road. The same thing happened today with Calgary. What happened in that 3rd period?

'Well, they got pucks in the net. They got bodies there in front. We got outmuscled in front of the net and they scored on a couple of rebounds. It's a matter of picking up your guy to see where he's at and...I thought we started squeezing the stick a bit in the 3rd period and making plays, keeping at them. You know, we have to close teams out and do that in the future. Learn from this and move on...

Final question for you and we do thank you for your time: Your level of health at this time and your overall level of play. Are you happy with both?

'(Sighs) No, no, and no. Starting the year off with a groin injury and other minor injuries that tend to linger on...it's been tough. It's been tough waking up in the morning sore and coming to the rink but I just try to be prepared every day, be a leader, score goals, make plays and be a differnece maker and I have to do that.'

This Thursday after a three day rest you tackle Vancouver. Best of luck and thanks for visiting.

'Thank you very much.'

Over and out in Big D.

Mr. Will