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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 15, 2007

Cam Ward

DAVID KEON: I'm David Keon of the National Hockey League's Public Relations Department. I'd like to welcome you to our call. Today our guest is Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward. Thanks to Cam for taking the time today to answer your questions. And thanks to Mike Sundheim of the Canes' Public Relations staff for helping to arrange the call.
Earlier today, Cam was named first star for the week ending October 14th after leading Carolina to road victories over Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
He remains unbeaten in regulation time with a record of 4-0-1, has a goal against average of 1.79 and a save percentage of 9.42. Placing him in the Top 5 in each category among NHL goaltenders.
The hurricanes lead the southeast division with 9 points on a record of 4-1-1. Travel to Pennsylvania later this week where they'll meet the Penguins in Pittsburgh Friday, and the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Again, thanks to Cam for taking the time to join us and answer your questions.

Q. You're playing and the team is playing better than a year ago. Let's start with you - why are you playing better, and has it got anything to do with off-season conditioning or seeking advice or counsel of someone else?
CAM WARD: Well, I think it has to do with a little bit of everything. I mean, obviously, last year was a disappointing season for everybody. But I think it's fair to say I've seen the highs, I've seen the lows now, and hopefully I'm better because of it.
I took it upon myself this summer to do the best job that I could to get myself in better conditioned shape. And with the help of the training staff and the help of a nutritionist, I was able to get myself in the best shape I've ever been in.
I think I'm feeling better on the ice because of it, and it's paying dividends for me.

Q. Are you down in weight significantly?
CAM WARD: Yeah, I'm down. At one point I was down to 25. I think I'm down to about 22. My first season when we went to the Stanley Cup I was about 198. Last year I was probably around the 200 mark. Right now as of this morning, I was 177.

Q. Wow, thank you.
CAM WARD: You're welcome.

Q. It's a nice warm day here in Edmonton. Probably as warm in North Carolina.
CAM WARD: I can imagine.

Q. Couple of questions. One, you talked about your regimen of losing weight, what did you do? Run stairs, did you quit eating hamburgers and hot dogs and greasy foods? The other question I have for you is your weight didn't seem to bother you when you were taking the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup. So why did you feel had you to lose weight?
CAM WARD: Well, I guess that's the thing. You always feel that you're in okay shape. I think I was guilty of that. But it's really until you get yourself in better shape that you really see the difference.
I definitely am seeing it on the ice. Not only do I feel quicker, but I feel like my stamina's a lot better for the duration of the games. During the week of the season or something, just like this past week.
But I've committed myself after last season to stick around in Raleigh to train with our trainer here and with Peter Friesen, and obviously, the biggest thing was to increase the cardio workload. Any time you run outside here in the humid air, you're definitely bound to lose some weight.

Q. What about eating differently? What did you eat before that you decided you better not eat anymore?
CAM WARD: Well, all those snacks I got away with, definitely stayed away from them. Basically, just discussed some health with the nutritionist and came up with like a system, a nutrition plan where for the first couple of weeks I was pretty much eating nothing but protein and cut out all my carbs. And it was just a matter of watching what I'm eating now and having the right portion control.

Q. I want to ask you, too, you talk about highs and lows - is it easy to get caught up in winning a Cup the first year, and the Con Smythe, and you think subconsciously, I'm on my way? Or is that just a natural thing for a goaltender? A lot of goalies have played really well in their first year, and they fell back in the second year then they go down the way from the third year on.
CAM WARD: Well, it's tough to say. Obviously, that summer was a whirlwind summer. That being said, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. But the fact is I probably was in for just over a month. And probably getting married that summer, it just ultimately was a really busy summer. But there's no really excuse for the next season.
But with my position of goaltending, consistency is such a big deal. There were times last year when I was probably guilty of just coming to the game sometimes, going through the motions where I'm doing the best I can this year to be mentally sharp. Not only mentally, but physically sharp and not one game slip by.

Q. The year you guys won the Stanley Cup, you were 14-3-1 after 18 games. And last year you were a bit slower, much slower getting out of the gate. And I know most people in hockey say the Stanley Cup isn't won in October, it's won in June. But how much of a value is it to have a fast start in terms of building confidence and chemistry within a team?
CAM WARD: I think it's huge. You look at our season last year, and right towards the end of the season we were playing for a playoff. And you hate to look back at your season and really wish in the early season that you had a better game here and there. I could have gotten a win here or there.
Every game is huge. It's not all just about the second half or the last week of trying get into the playoffs. It's what you do throughout the entire season that really matters. I think as a team to get off to a great start, it does help the confidence of the team. And I think we're just doing a great job of taking it one game at a time and trying to get better and better as each one goes by.

Q. You noticed, obviously, a big difference between last year and this year in terms of your team's collective start?
CAM WARD: Pardon me?

Q. You've noticed then a big difference just in terms of how well things are going this year compared to last year when you had injuries?
CAM WARD: Well, I think everybody knows from day one at training camp. I think you can definitely see guys who are a lot more excited. A lot more hungry coming into training camp for the upcoming season.
As disappointing as the season was last year, one of the positive things was we had a long layover in the summertime where we were able to get some healthy bodies and ultimately recharge the batteries. And I think it was definitely noticeable that you could see the guys were a lot more excited coming into the season.

Q. Congratulations, Cam. What are the guys doing so much better in front of you this time? And who, in particular, seems to be stepping up the defensive game?
CAM WARD: You know what, that is the thing about our defensive line, it's no one in particular. As a defensive core, we've done a great job. Everybody talks about how highly skilled our offensive players are, which is very true. But we have a very steady and consistent defensive line to really help out our defensive game.
But I think it's just a matter of keeping things simple. You know, whether or not sacrificing the body, blocking shots. We've done a good job doing that.
And, really, I think that you see, especially in the last couple of games, if there are rebounds that I'm giving up, they're there and coming into the slot to help me out, which pays huge dividends. They've done an excellent job of stepping up.

Q. It seems like you're challenging shots more above the crease this year as opposed to sitting back. Did you work on anything in particular with Greg Stefan about that? Also, your puck handling has been, I guess, a question mark. How do you feel you're coming along with that part of your game?
CAM WARD: I think that it's definitely progressing. That is one of the areas that we definitely looked at for improvement. I know in training camp when Tom Barrasso came in too, he was involved with us in training camp, and gave me a few helpful tips just knowing that that was one of his strong attributes when he was playing the game. I think he told me he had 11 points one year.
But one thing is also having the team when they come back into the defensive zone and giving you outs. They've done an excellent job where if we have a reverse, for example, they're there in the right position where I can give them the puck.

Q. How about challenging shots more? Do you feel you're being more aggressive?
CAM WARD: It's tough to say. I find I play my best when I'm just not thinking at all. But I tell you with the position, especially against certain shooters, you have to be at the top of the crease and taking away as much net as possible. But any time that I am challenging or just reacting without even thinking, that's when I know I'm doing my best.

Q. When do you play Brent Sutter this year?
CAM WARD: To be quite honest, I don't even know. I did see him at training camp. So when we have an exhibition game in Washington, I believe and we'll pass on the hole. But it will be exciting for that first time we do play against Jersey, just knowing he's on the opposing bench as a coach.

Q. Are you not surprised he's in the NHL? Are you surprised he left the Juniors? You he had such a good thing going there, why would he want to leave Juniors?
CAM WARD: There was obviously no question, he had a great set up. But knowing Brent, he wants to, obviously, reach the full potential of himself, and there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be a good coach in the NHL as he was in the JHL.

Q. Last week when you played Toronto, one of the real positives of that game was all seven goals scored by seven different scorers. I'm looking at your team scoring right now, and there is a new name in the HF, Hamilton. Seems to be an outstanding off-season signing. Tell me about how Hamilton has added to this team?
CAM WARD: Well, he's been a great addition to our hockey team. I'm a big fan of his shot. He's got an excellent shot. Just from experience in practices against him. It's fair to put him up there as one of the top shots on our team.
And I guess one area that our team did look to improve upon was adding to the power play. I think he adds that extra power shot from the point. That makes it tough on opposing teams, goaltenders. If the goalie saves it, there's a good chance of it being a rebound just because it's hard for a goaltender to control.

Q. Larose is hurt in the preseason, and he's really come in and gotten a chance to play up front with some of the better players and really produce. Can you talk about Chad's impact on the ice now and what kind of guy he is in the locker room? He's kind of one of the characters on the team.
CAM WARD: Well, you're right. He is a character. The thing with Chad is that he leaves it on the ice all the time, every single shift. I don't think you ever see a shift go by where he's not working his butt off.
I took the honor of rooming with him on the road, and I have a blast with Chad. He's definitely a guy that lends to the room and isn't afraid to joke around. But it's great to see that his hard work is paying off. He's only going to get better, and better.

Q. A guy like Larose often gets lost in the shuffle. But you need guys like that to win championships?
CAM WARD: Yeah, well, it's never about one line, it's about a whole team as one and you look at our first line, and they were playing great with Letowski, Hamilton in Montreal. And I think that's what you need to be successful. You need four lines on instead of two goaltenders. Fortunately, we have good depth in that area.
DAVID KEON: Thanks for your time today.

End of FastScripts

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