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| Jamie Baker as member of the Ottawa Senators |
Sens Town: You are an Ottawa native, growing up in Nepean, so which high school did you attend and where did you play your minor hockey? Plus random fact, you share the same birthday as my brother.
Jamie Baker: I went to JS Woodsworth in Nepean and played my entire minor hockey, including Tier 2 Jr, with the Nepean Raiders. Tell your brother I said happy birthday.
ST: So at that time, the Senators weren't around yet, who did you cheer for? Who were your favorite players growing up?
JB: My favorite teams growing up were Chicago and the NY Islanders. Four fun years in high school during the Islander dynasty - my buddies were not happy with me. My favorite players growing up were Bobby Clarke, Bryan Trottier and then Mark Messier (see the trend?)
ST: Did you try and model your game after anyone?
JB: Well I never had their offensive abilities at the NHL level but based on my favorite players, I always liked the two-way centers.
ST: So you chose to attend Saint Lawrence University, where you won 2 conference championships during your time. What made you go the NCAA route over Junior hockey in Canada?
JB: Actually it was easy, I was never drafted to play Jr in Canada. I was a late bloomer, and garnered interest from colleges, although that would have been my first choice because getting an education was priority number 1. Those four years at SLU were awesome... great teams, memories and tons of friends for life.
ST: So you went undrafted but were taken by the Quebec Nordiques in the supplemental draft. I imagine you must have been pretty happy to be taken by a Canadian team and have a shot at playing pro hockey?
JB: Actually getting picked in the supplemental draft meant I lost a chance at being an unrestricted free agent. I was drafted in the years where Quebec had the Stastny brothers and they had some epic battles against Montreal so I was excited to be drafted by them.
ST: When did you realize realistically that you might have a shot at making hockey your career? What was the moment when you thought, hey I might be pretty good at this?
JB: After my Junior year in college I thought I might have a chance to play pro - I was 21 at the time so definitely a late bloomer. Our team lost the National Championship game in OT in Lake Placid and I was a key player all year for us. That summer is when I got picked in the supplemental draft and I thought I might be able to play hockey a professional, which had always been a dream of mine but never was that realistic.
ST: In 89-90 you got a game in the NHL, your first. Did it motivate you to want to be a full time NHLer? What were the biggest difference you noticed from the AHL to the NHL?
JB: It was a thrill to play the one game, I always thought that at least I can say I had a cup of coffee in the NHL. I was already motivated and driven so that one game didn't really change anything from that perspective. The biggest difference from the AHL to the NHL is everyone in the NHL is good ... fast, strong, skilled and they play the game positionally so well. Also the passing, especially in practice, was noticeably better in the NHL.
ST: So by 91-92 you got 52 games in the NHL with the Nords, dropping 10 goals and 17 points but weren't brought back, were you disappointed or were you looking to leave?
JB: Neither, they had Claude Lapointe, Stephane Morin and Marc Fortier who I was competing against for 3rd or 4th line center jobs. I understood the situation and it ended up working out.
ST: So when your hometown team was awarded an expansion team, what were you thinking when you first heard the news?
JB: I think I was like every other hockey fan from Ottawa - ecstatic to hear the NHL was finally coming back to Ottawa. I was with Quebec at the time so I was more excited about the possibility of playing games in Ottawa as opposed to actually playing for them in the inaugural year. I must admit, I was also curious as to the allegiance of fans in Ottawa because there are so many lifelong Habs and Leafs fans. Now 20 years later there is a generation of fans who grew up with the Senators as their favorite team - let's make sure they are louder when the Leafs or Habs are in town.
ST: So in 92-93, our first year in the league, you signed on as a free agent. What made you want to come play for the Senators: playing time? wanted to play at home? other reasons?
JB: I would say it had to do with playing in my hometown - what a dream come true especially considering Ottawa didn't have an NHL team when I was a kid. The 2nd reason is that I had a chance to establish myself as a regular in the NHL and playing for a expansion team would give me an opportunity (like playing on the PP) that I wouldn't get on most teams.
ST: The first day in training camp for the expansion Sens, what were your thoughts as far as the talent level since it was mostly castaways from other teams. Were you feeling like you had a decent team or what it a big drop in quality from the emerging Nordiques team you came from.
JB: Honestly all I was paying attention to was how I played and who I was competing against for a job.
ST: October 8th, 1992 - it's the first game of our return against the storied Montreal Canadiens and the Civic Centre was buzzing with excitement. Describe how it felt warming up and just the atmosphere of the inaugural game?
JB: One of the top 5 highlights of my career is the opening night game vs Montreal. From the atmosphere and energy all week leading up to the game, to the pre-game events, the epic National Anthem sung by Alanis Morrisette. The icing on the cake was obviously winning that night - what special night for the city of Ottawa.
ST: What was the reaction like on the bench when Neil Brady scored the first goal? And how did you guys celebrate the big first win?
JB: Once a game starts you are focused on what is happening on the ice so when Brady scored the crowd went crazy but we knew there was lots of hockey to be played. After the game there were lots of high fives but no real celebration.
ST: In your only year here you had a pretty impressive 48 points, which had to be quite satisfying for you. What brought on the huge increase in your point total?
JB: The opportunity to play in an offensive role, especially on the PP. Most players in the NHL were top scorers growing up on teams, and that was the case when I played at St. Lawrence. However the NHL is a different animal and you now play against the best players in the world every night so it's tough to score. On other teams I was usually slotted in a 3rd line checking role, which better suited my ability at the NHL level.
ST: You guys only had 1 road win that year, which now seems insane and almost impossible but it happened. What was it like to have to struggle for wins like that in the first year? I imagine it had to have been pretty frustrating.
JB: Frustrating? How about brutal and embarrassing! Did bring out one of my favorite stories though. After Laurie Boschman scored in OT in NY against the Islanders we all streamed onto the ice to celebrate with him and he started yelling, while the entire team was around him "We are going to Disneyland, We are going to Disneyland!!"
ST: Sum up the first season in one word?
JB: Long
ST: Give us your best story from that first season that we haven't heard, I'm sure there has be to some great one's with those bunch of characters on the team.
JB: My personal favorite is the morning after a game a few of the guys asked me who "uncle Burke" was. I found out that my uncle had a few cocktails the night before and called into the post-game show and kept raving about how well I played. Gordie brought up different topics from the game but it always came back to the way I played. Finally Gordie asked, "Geez, you really like Baker don't you, what are you one of his relatives". To which the response was "Ya, I'm his uncle Burke". Let's just say the boys had fun with that one for awhile.
ST: Do you keep in touch with any of the guys still from the 92-93 team?
JB: Not too many, I see a few guys on the road when the Sharks are playing, like Brad Shaw, or Mark Lamb when he was in Dallas. I have spoken to Bosch a few times but so many players after so many years that it's tough to stay in touch with everyone.
ST: So after the first year, you left as a free agent to San Jose, what happened there? Why did you pick San Jose, a team who had just one more win than the Sens did their first year.
JB: San Jose offered me a one-way contract and they made a lot of changes too. It seems both expansion teams were making a ton of changes after losing so many games. I figured I could get decent ice time there and liked the moves they were making.
ST: In your 1st year in San Jose you guys made the leap to 31 wins, up 20 from the year before and even making the playoffs. I think you should get some credit for that don't you think? I loved those old school all teal uni's you had. I don't wanna get too nostalgic but my Dad bought me some awesome Zubaz Sharks gear back then. Did you ever wear any?
JB: We were a team that was put together with a bunch of players that other teams didn't want and we just came together well and played for each other and bought into the system that Kevin Constantine put into place. It was quite a year and no, I can't say I wore the Zubaz gear haha.
ST: In that first ever playoff series you scored your most famous goal, winning the series for the Sharks in game 7 at the Joe in Detroit. Describe the goal and how awesome it felt to be the hero. It had to be pretty surreal.
JB: Fluky goal and I was in the right place at the right time but the key is our team gave ourselves a chance to win that series. We won all the close games. It was obviously great scoring the goal to win the series but the next day at the team dinner in Toronto I was watching video on Gimore, Clark, Andrychuk and the rest of the Leafs, so any enjoyment I had was short lived because we played game 1 vs Toronto two days later.
ST: That moment was so big and popular that it even has it's own History Will Be Made commercial. What were your thoughts on that? It has to be pretty amazing to have your own historic commercial I would imagine.
JB: Pretty cool eh!
ST: So now you do broadcasting for the San Jose Sharks, how did the gig come about and it has to be a lot of fun right?
JB: I had been doing a few other things for work and the job opened up and they were looking for an ex Shark to come back. Dan Rusanowsky, who does the play by play, also went to St. Lawrence and was actually calling play by play for SLU as a grad student at Clarkson during my freshman year. So I've know Ruzzie for over 20 years. It's a great job and a lot has to do with the guy I work with.
ST: You were here for the Heatley returns game, what did you think about the atmosphere that night? Did you think he deserved it? Now that he's no longer a Shark, what did you think about the whole situation with Ottawa and him? Was it a bad move for the Sharks to pick him up?
JB: I didn't like the atmosphere and feel bad for Heater because he is a great guy, a real pro and the spin on what happened in Ottawa wasn't fair. People only know one side of the story. Heater was very popular in the dressing room in San Jose and guys and the trainers were really disappointed to see him get traded to Minny this past summer.
ST: So the Senators are clearly going through a tough time at the moment, but we do have some decent prospects. What do you think we should expect this year?
JB: Tough question with so much youth but I think fans will enjoy a high intensity brand of hockey. With younger players you get more mistakes but that can lead to exciting games. There were some mistakes made in Ottawa but I think the organization is on the right track and one thing we have seen in the salary cap era is you can turn things around pretty quickly if the right players are drafted, signed and the players are developed properly.
ST: This year is our 20th anniversary season, can you believe it's already been 20 years?
JB: No, it's hard to believe. We just had the 20th anniversary for the Sharks last year. My dream Stanley Cup is still San Jose against Ottawa.
ST: And finally, do you get back to Ottawa often? Notice any changes in the popularity of the Sens in the city now from when you played here?
JB: I try and get back to see family and friends in the summer. As for the popularity, it's not just in Ottawa but all over Canada. It's like there is no off-season anymore and the popularity in hockey is incredible.
ST: Any parting words or anything you'd like to say to the Sens fans?
JB: Congrats on 20 great years - the city of Ottawa deserves an NHL franchise and it's known around the league as a great place to play with great fans. Enjoy the season and I'm sure there is going to be some memorable moments and games as lots of young players try and prove themselves as day to day NHL regulars. And lay off Heatley, it's time to move on - the fans looked bad and fed off each other last year, especially considering they only know what they have read and there is another side to the story.Go Sharks, Go Sens!
Many thanks to Jamie for joining me. You can follow him on twitter by clicking here.
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