NHL ENTRY DRAFT

June 22, 1996

Matt Higgins

Oh, yeah. I mean, so far this is just kind of -- it is -- it says what team to go try out for. This is also a step in your career, but I mean, as I said, this is where things start. This is where you have to start to work, and it's where things take off from.

Yeah. Well, being a Canadian boy, I've heard everything about Montreal and the hockey in Canada I used to watch and you do feel some tradition when you put the Jersey on, and it feels pretty good.

No, actually I had no indication at all. It was a surprise -- it was pretty surprising.

Yeah, I started French in school. I know -- I was in French for school, so that's where I learned it.

Yeah, hope so.

Uhmm, I'm not sure how to explain that. It's a funny thing the draft and funny things happen just like in life. You never know what to expect and that's something that came up. You go -- I -- you roll with it kind of thing. I think I'm an offensive-minded player. I -- oh, I'm going to try and score some goals and set some goals up. I don't want to forget about my end, defense and I'm going to be an aggressive player.

I'll probably go to training camp and I'll hopefully have a good camp, see what happens and I'll probably end in up in junior camp.

Through minor hockey I played all positions, but once I started major junior, I played center for the most part.

Yeah, Steve Iseman (ph) has always been my favorite player and the combination of maybe him and Joe, those have been two guys I always looked up to.

It's special. It's something really special. As I said, growing up in Canada, you here hear so much about the Canadiens and there's so many history books. There's just so much history behind it and it's just so special to put the Canadian jersey on.

Well, just that so much I've heard about her. She was my dad's mom, and I never got a chance to meet her, and so I mean, it's just something, you know, you want to meet your grandparents, and I never got a chance to meet her, and it's just something I would have liked to have done.

No, I had no clue actually, no clue. No.

Uhmm, well for the interviews I had and the stuff that -- the fly downs I had and everything, it was pretty mixed up. They were all over the place, so I think it's like a poker game; no one wanted to show their cards and so we really never did know.