Q&A with Mike Cichy

Despite being the youngest player on his team, Mike Cichy led Tri-City in scoring with 16 goals, 29 assists and 45 points during his USHL rookie season. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound forward from New Hartford, Conn., scored two power-play goals, two shorthanded goals and a pair of game-winning goals.

He will come to UND in 2009.

Q. The Halifax Mooseheads have you on their training camp roster and another report says you are going there next season. Is that the case?

MIKE CICHY: No, I'm not going there. I think that is a bit of wishful thinking on their part. I already talked to Cary Eades, too, and told him that.

Q. It sounds like they have been all over you from the day they drafted you two years ago.

MIKE CICHY: Yeah, they really have. They do a lot of things -- say name your price and stuff. But I keep telling them I'm not going there.

Q. How did you feel your first season in the USHL went?

MIKE CICHY: It was really positive. It was a big learning experience. It was a wake-up call about how I need to get stronger. I thought I learned a lot last season.

Q. Are you going back to Tri-City next season?

MIKE CICHY: Yeah, I'm going back to the Storm. Dave Hakstol gave me the option to come in and told me I could choose what to do. Last season, there were some positive stories about guys who played an extra year of juniors. Jason Gregoire chose to stay, Barry Almeida (BC recruit) chose to stay and it paid off for those guys. I think one more year of gaining some confidence and strength will be a big key for me.

Q. What was the experience like for you, playing in the World Junior A Challenge for Team USA?

MIKE CICHY: They took the top 89s and 90s and we went up there and showed our stuff. That was a lot of fun. I wasn't a real go-to guy on that team. I was a younger guy, but being there was a great experience.

Q. Didn't you represent Team USA in one other tournament recently?

MIKE CICHY: I went to Slovakia (for the Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament) the summer before I played with the Storm. Went there and got to play on the same line as Phil McRae so that was a lot of fun. The time change got me a little sick at first -- it was the first time I've ever been overseas. That was really different. Pretty much every country sent their best, too. The Russians sent their best. Canada was there and they brought Steve Stamkos and John Tavares.

Q. You must be done with the USA summer festivals now, right?

MIKE CICHY: Yeah, last summer was the last one. Those were always fun, getting to see a bunch of buddies.

Q. You had a chance to play with fellow Sioux recruit Mario Lamoureux last season. What was your impression of him?

MIKE CICHY: Mario is one of the hardest-working kids I've ever played with. I have no doubt he'll do amazing next year at North Dakota. I'm excited for him. I even said this in my meeting with the (UND) coaching staff: There's not another player I'd rather play with than Mario Lamoureux, just because of his work ethic. There was no better captain in our league last season.

Q. So you had a chance to have a meeting with the Sioux coaching staff?

MIKE CICHY: Yeah, I took my official visit right after the USHL season -- it was the middle of May. I took a tour of campus, got to see the rink and sit down and talk with the coaches.

Q. How did it go?

MIKE CICHY: It was awesome. Just sitting down and talking with them -- I don't know if we've really had a chance to sit down and talk like that since they first started recruiting me. I think it made a real positive impact. I also got to meet some of the guys and hang out with them -- Duncan, T.J. Oshie, Taylor Chorney and Watkins. They are great guys. They made me feel really good to be there.

Q. You may or may not get drafted in the NHL draft this weekend. What are your thoughts heading in to it?

MIKE CICHY: I'm trying to keep my mind off of that, otherwise you'll get too stressed out. I've heard so many things about where I could end up. I'm just going to let things play out.

Q. Were you disappointed that you weren't on the final CSB rankings?

MIKE CICHY: I've talked to my advisor, Eddie Ward, and he basically said that's just the opinion of the 31st team. It's just one team's opinion. NHL teams have replicated the same thing. They all say don't really get caught up in it. The NHL teams don't always go by the rankings.

Posted by: Schlossman on Sunday, June 15 at 1:50 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink