NHL ENTRY DRAFT

June 22, 1996

Dainius Zubrus

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: After the season I went -- when I finished I went to New York to see my agent and then I did some talking and testing with Philadelphia, so I am glad I picked Philadelphia, I am real excited, but I think I think it is a great place.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yeah, I know.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I am not surprised. I think I deserve to be that high. I think there is no surprises for me.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Just that I didn't really like -- LaValle Titans, Quebec Major Juniors at that time I knew Jay already, my agent, and he what he did, he looked for a team. He said I think the best place to go was --

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: No.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I had my friend Demetri who is here with me. He will probably be selected in the second or third round. It was -- I knew the style of game and everything because the team that I played for, it is a very good team and we have been travelling for a lot of years. I have been in over like eight or nine times there with the team and the coach, so we played over 250 games in four years and I knew what kind of game it would be and I was prepared for that. I am thinking getting in the best shape right now and give it the best shot this year; if not, then I think next year or two years it is possible.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I speak four languages Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian and English. Just because I was born Lithuanian, I talked to them in Lithuanian; then I went to Ukraine; most of the people, they speak Russian, but still -- and then English when I started travelling, that was the time that when I started a little bit to get into that, in Ukraine, you can't really learn the language -- you can, but it is not as good as if you come over and talk to people. So I came over and talked to people, watched TV and listened and stuff like that, so that was a good way.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yes, I think language -- I think language is a good thing to know - you can talk to the teammates, you can talk to guys and stuff. If you cannot, it is kind of -- I think when you don't know the language, you are kind of away from the team; you don't know what they are thinking. So the language helps you get into the team, talk to the people or something like that.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yeah, I think some I think when you know the language, you are more into that. I think it helps a lot.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I like a couple -- I like lots of players, but I think I'd like to -- if you can mix Federov and Ross, that would be something that I would be.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Thank you very much.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Different times I turn into a different player. Like sometimes I am more of a goal scorer; then I get -- lots of times I try to be more like playmaker. I can't really say that I -- that I am one of the sides. I am somewhere between that, like playmaker and goal scorer because I can score goals. I can make plays too.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I think I have got to concentrate more on defensive game because I think that is one of the sides that I have to work.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I think if I was to play in major junior, it would even be better for me. I think I would have been -- scouts would have liked Union more because when I play that level you get the puck and you can get the puck every time you want it, so it was kind of, I think at the higher level, I think it would have been better.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I think that the organization -- I just decided not to.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: A little bit.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: No. I played Tier II; now I am free whatever I want to do, I can do because I am not in the CHL, so....

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Whatever they think. If they think that is the best way to develop me, I think that would be great.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yeah, I watched.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I like the team. I thick their -- I like the team. I like the way -- I like lots of players on the team, most of them and I think it is a really good team.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Physical and skill technique. That is what I like.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I grew up 'til about ten years, 11 years old in Lithuania; then I moved to Ukraine.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Why? Because I met met my coach which was in Ukraine; then I met all the guys on the team and I thought that is the best team; that is the best coach and I wanted to go there.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: That was about six years ago.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yeah, I was.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: No. They worried, of course. It was kind of hard the first year for me but after that, I got used to that.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Yeah.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Not too often, but when I got the chance I, of course, go and see them.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I have a brother. He is turning 20 in August and I have a sister, she is 11.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: They live with my parents, so when I go to see my parents, I can see them too.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I don't know. You really don't know in a draft what is going to happen. So I was -- I just sat there, I wait.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: I had lots of interviews in the last two days. I did 11 interviews in the last two days, so I don't know.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: Jay Grossman.

DAINIUS ZUBRUS: No, we haven't really talked about it.