DJ Powers Interviews Patrick Mullen In DC

NOTE: DJ Powers writes for Hockey's Future a website devoted to discovering hockey stars before they reach the professional ranks. Several times a year she writes a few DU related articles for LetsGoDU

Special to LetsGoDU

By: DJ Powers

Forward-turned-defenseman Patrick Mullen just completed an outstanding career at the University of Denver, where he helped guide the Pioneers to a WCHA Final Five Championship and another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

This week, Patrick Mullen is in Washington DC participating in the Frozen Four Skills Challenge, which took place on Friday night at the Verizon Center. He shared his insights on a variety of topics including his career at DU, signing with the Los Angeles Kings, and even chimed in on the Boone debate.

Q: What has it been like for you to be here?

PM: It’s been fun. It’s kind of like being in the NHL Skills Competition. Being in the NHL one day is something that we all want to do, and to kind of act like them and see what they’ve done in the past is pretty fun.

Q: How was the overall experience of being here in Washington been for you personally?

PM: Oh, it’s been great. The games so far have been great too. So it’s been a lot of fun for sure.

Q: How has the equipment been? Because I know that Bauer provided both Skills teams all of their equipment.

PM: Well the skates are a little stiff (Laughs), but everything else has been top-notch and it’s all the best products.

Q: I’d like to go back and talk a little about your career at DU. You had a great season this year and with this being your final year, what has been like to play that last year at DU?

PM: I really enjoyed my whole career in Denver. I got another year of great memories. We had another great team that did pretty well this year. It’s was too bad that we got knocked out by Miami in the regional, but they’re obviously a great team because they’re in the National Championship game. But aside from that, it’s been a great year and great experience.

Q: What are some of the memories that you’ll take from DU?

PM: Well I’ll definitely take the memory of winning the WCHA Championship and having had the chance to play with some guys who are now in the NHL like Staz (Peter Statsny), Matt Carle, Chris Butler, Peter Mannino and all of those guys. It’s was great playing with those guys, so that’s what I would take.

Q: How many oranges and how many lemons did you win in your four years?

PM: I got the lemons twice in my freshman year, and I want to say that I got the orange about seven times. I think Rhett Rakhshani had gotten something like 15 this year, so it’s just ridiculous.

Q: What do you think about the whole Boone debate?

PM: Well, to be honest with you I never really got involved in it. Peter Mannino kind of brought that back pretty strong. He’s crazy about it. He’s got it on his helmet playing with the Islanders. But I think it’s pretty cool that they got the mascot thing going. I saw him (Boone) last night and it was pretty cool to see and he looks good. Whatever they plan to do with the red hawk or whatever it is, is fine with me. I think it’s pretty weak. So it’s good to see that they’re trying to bring him back.

Q: Would you personally like to see Boone brought back?

PM: Sure, I think anything’s better than what we have as a logo right now.

Q: When you first came to DU, you started out as a forward and later moved to defense. How has your role and your game grown and developed since the switch?

PM: I think it’s a totally different mindset. Instead trying to be the guy (goal-scorer), you’re trying to be the one trying to stop the guy. So it’s definitely different. I do still try to be offensive by jumping into the play. And with my skating ability, I think the transition was easier. I can skate backwards pretty well, so it wasn’t that bad. Overall it’s been a good learning experience. If I end up moving back to forward in the future, then I’ll become a better defensive forward.

Q: Do you have a preference of one over the other of which position you’d rather play?

PM: Well I played this year as a defenseman, so I’ll say defenseman.

Q: I know that you recently signed with the Los Angeles Kings. I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see you here because you had been signed, so how did you manage to do that?

PM: Well, if I had actually gone to play for the Kings (after signing) then I wouldn’t have been able to graduate. So with that and the fact that (Tyler) Scofield from Bemidji being here with his team in the Frozen Four, they invited me. I was pretty excited when the Kings signed me and now I kind of know what I’ll be doing next year.

Q: Will you be heading to Manchester after you’re done here?

PM: No. I’ll most likely be heading there at the start of next season. I’ve got a lot to learn about playing defense and getting to know the guys too. So as a right-handed offensive defenseman, I think it’s going to be a good learning experience in Manchester next year.

Q: How hard were the Kings pursuing you and did you know that they were interested in signing you?

PM: Yes. I had spoken with a few of their scouts throughout this year and they’ve kept in touch with me. So I kind of had an idea that they were going after to me. So I think they’ll be a good fit for my development.

Q: Finally, what would you like to best remembered for as Denver Pioneer?

PM: I helped the team to win all the time and did everything I could to help the team, like switching to defense. That was a pretty big move for me, career-wise. So I think I want to be remembered as a guy that tried to do whatever he could for the team.

- DJ Powers

Staff Writer - NCAA

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