Over the course of Main Camp, media intern Emily Polglaze will be catching up with some of Janesville’s new prospects. These include draft picks, tendered players, and camp invitees. First up is goaltender Kevin Hale.
Name: Kevin Hale
Position: Goalie
Birth year: 1997
Hometown: Palmer, AK
Hale played with the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack in the Eastern Hockey League on both Premier and Elite Teams. In five Premier games, he posted a save percentage of .934 and racked up .921 in two Elite appearances. Hale is goaltending for Team Red during Main Camp.
EP: Where did you play last year?
KH: I played in the Eastern Premier Hockey League for the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack.
EP: What brings you to Janesville’s main camp?
KH: Janesville is a very good hockey club and they do a very good job of moving the players, as well as goalies, on to Division I and that’s my ultimate goal. So I wanted to get here and do what I can.
EP: How would you describe yourself as a player?
KH: I’m a big and consistent goalie, so ultimately I can just bring a consistent game to Janesville.
EP: Who do you model your game after?
KH: I’ve been told I have a playing style sort of like Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers), but I try to play like Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights), he just seems to have fun and always seems to find a way to stop the puck, so that’s what I try to do.
EP: What are your thoughts after the first day?
KH: It went pretty well. I stopped almost everything, allowed one goal. But I felt pretty good, felt in rhythm so that’s always good. The pace was good, nice and quick. There were times when the puck was in our zone for a pretty long amount of time, and that’s always a burner on the legs, but the competition was definitely there and it was fun. Looking forward to more. I just want to keep playing my game. Obviously it’s worked out in the past, so the mindset is just stop the puck.
EP: What are your goals for Main Camp?
KH: I want to have some fun, do what I can and just play my game … stop the puck, too.