Jason Nightingale - Alternate Captain
Number: 19
Position: Forward
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 200
Birthday: 3-14-78
Hometown: Cheboygan, Michigan
Last team: Gaylord Grizzlies

Player Biography

Jason joins the Bucs after a great season with the Gaylord Grizzlies in the North American Hockey League. Last year, he scored 22 goals and had 23 assists. Jason says that he doesn't listen to anything before a game - he likes it quiet, and he wears the same hockey tie to every game.

Player Interview

3/18/98

Steve: Jason, where were you born and where do you call home?

Jason: Well, I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but my dad is a state cop so we moved around. Now I call Cheboygan, Michigan home. It is in Northern Michigan.

Steve: So what was it like growing up in Michigan?

Jason: It is great for hockey, you know. You have cold weather, the outdoor rinks. I enjoyed it a lot, the outdoors. I am into fishing and hunting and different things like that. I haven't had much time for that, you know, because of hockey. I am pretty serious about that. But, I mean, it is a little more laid back; life is a little more laid back where I'm from. You kind of take your time, and I like it that way.

Steve: Tell me about your family.

Jason: I have got my mom and dad. My dad, Ron, is a state trooper; my mom is a junior high gym teacher. My brother, Adam, moved away from home to play hockey up at Marquette, Michigan for the Marquette Elictricians. He is a senior this year; he will graduate. My other brother, Jerod, he is in 9th grade. He plays for a hockey team called the Elks. He is a good defenseman, a real good defenseman.

Steve: It sounds like the whole family is into hockey.

Jason: Yeah.

Steve: How did that happen?

Jason: Well, the funny part is my dad never played hockey when he was younger. He just grew up in Detroit and watched Gordy Howe at Olympia Arena there. Gordy Howe kind of got him interested. He was a real big player, real popular in Detroit and he started picking it up. When I was in Michigan, well, I was born in Kalamazoo and moved to Jackson and I started playing when I was about four or five. It just caught on since then.

Steve: Has any of your family been able to see you play as a Buc?

Jason: Twice. My parents have been out here for the Buc Bowl and they came a couple weekends ago when we played Omaha and North Iowa. It is kind of a long trip; it is a 12 hour drive from my house.

Steve: When did you know or decide that you wanted to pursue hockey full time?

Jason: Well, when I grew up in Cheboygan, especially like the end of elementary school into junior high, all we had was outdoor rinks so I wasn't really serious about it. We played about 10 games a season, and our season only lasted for a month or month and a half. But in 9th grade they passed a millage and we ended up having a brand new ice rink. I quit all the other sports and I focused in on hockey, and I decided this is what I wanted to do. If I was doing good at it and it seemed like I could continue on, I kept continuing on. I never tried to force it.

Steve: Have you always played your current position?

Jason: No. Actually, I started off as a defense man when I was six, seven, and eight. When I moved up to Cheboygan there just happened to be a shortage of forwards. I had skated a little bit on indoor ice so I had a little better skating than some of the other guys, so they moved me up on forward and I have been there ever since.

Steve: What teams have you played for then?

Jason: Well, like I said, I started off in the Jackson Amateur Hockey Association, and from there I moved to the Cheybogan Amateur Hockey Association. Then I went and played for the Sioux Hawks, which is an affiliate of the Buccaneers, for two years, my junior and senior year. Last year I played for the Gaylord Grizzlies in the North American League. Now this year I play for the Des Moines Buccaneers.

Steve: Is Gaylord a city?

Jason: Yeah. Gaylord is only about 45 minutes from my house. It is a junior A team in the same league with Compuware and Springfield.

Steve: So then how did you come to play for the Bucs?

Jason: Coach Owens recruited me. Actually, he came and watched me and Basile; we were playing at the same time. He played for the Freeze and I played for Gaylord, and he came up there. It is kind of funny because my mom had a camera at the game and she was taking pictures of me, and she ended up taking a picture of our family. Coach Owens was sitting right next to my dad and we didn't know it until I came here for try outs and I actually saw him the first time. So it was kind of funny.

Steve: What are some of the things that you like about playing for the Bucs?

Jason: Well, it is a great organization. I think it has a lot of class. A lot of the different benefit things that we do, skate with the handicapped in the morning; we go to different schools and talk. Me and Bill Rosseau went to a school one time and talked about pride. We did the Toys for Tots. So I think that is really nice because we are kind of a little bit of a high profile team here in Des Moines, and it is great that we give back to the community. I think our fans are great. We have got a great fan base and they really support us really well, and we like that. I think our team, I think I enjoy playing on the team because of the character that we have. These guys get along real well and the coach has said it a couple times; the season seems like it has just flown by and that is good. That means you've had a good season; things haven't dragged out. You wish you could keep going on and on. You are still excited to go to the rink every day, and that is what I like about being on the Bucs.

Steve: Are there certain teams you would rather play or not play?

Jason: No. Well, actually I enjoy playing Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux City and North Iowa because you get fired up, you know. You know it is going to be a tough battle. Those are always the most fun games for me. They are physical and they are intent, and they always mean something. You have got to come to play to win.

Steve: Do you have a favorite college or pro team?

Jason: Well, I am going to attend Lake Superior State University next year so that is my favorite college. It is about an hour from my house. My favorite pro team though is the Detroit Red Wings. I grew up being a Red Wing fan and, you know, I like all Detroit professional teams, especially the Red Wings, you know, because they are hockey and they won the Stanley Cup last year. I really enjoy watching them play.

Steve: So your future hockey plans would be at Lake Superior State.

Jason: Lake Superior State, yeah.

Steve: And they recruited you? Tell me a little bit about that.

Jason: They began recruiting me this summer. I went on an unofficial visit and then I had a good Buc Bowl, and I ended up talking more to Coach Scott Borek. In November I went on an official visit. I flew back home and I got a chance to see the campus and stuff. Two days later I decided that was the school I wanted to go to, so I ended up signing. So I have been committed to Lake State for quite awhile. I am really excited about that because I think Coach Borek has got a good program there, and there is a lot of winning tradition. They are kind of built on hard work and that kind of fits in my style.

Steve: What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in hockey?

Jason: Well, I would have had a hard time answering that question until last weekend at the awards ceremony when I skated out. I got called for an award and I was kind of surprised, and I was skating out and I stepped on the rug and the rug came right out from under me and I fell right on my back. So that was definitely the most embarrassing thing in front of 3,000 people that I have ever done.

Steve: What is your favorite food and dessert?

Jason: I love pasta. I love the taste of it; I love Italian food, especially spaghetti. I try to have it two or three times a week. We always have it before the games. It is great energy and great carbohydrates. My favorite dessert though is cheesecake. My mom usually makes it for me, cherry cheesecake, on every one of my birthdays. It is kind of a special thing for me.

Steve: Do people consider you shy or out going?

Jason: I think I kind of keep to myself. You know, I don't, I am not, I like being home; I like quiet time. I like having time to think and relax. So I am kind of shy, I would say.

Steve: What do you do in the summer? Do you go back home?

Jason: I have a job. I trim Christmas trees with a machete in the summer on a farm, and I try to weight lift quite a bit. There is a lot of water by my house with the Great Lakes, so I enjoy skiing and tubing and stuff like that and playing golf with my brothers.

Steve: Do you have any hobbies or interests then besides hockey?

Jason: Besides hockey I enjoy weight lifting. I know weight lifting runs close to hockey but I really enjoy doing that. I enjoy golfing too. I enjoy being outdoors. I enjoy hunting and fishing even though I don't have a lot of time for it, you know, right now. But when I get older, that is something I am going to enjoy doing.

Steve: The fans would be surprised to know that . . .

Jason: Well, I kind of play physical style. I have gotten in quite a few fights this year, and I think they might be surprised to know that I am a Christian and that Jesus Christ is my Lord Savior. That is, you know, in everything I do I try to bring glory to Him and that is the whole purpose of my life. Even though I am physical out on the ice and I play that style, I realize it is just a game and I leave it on the ice. When the game is over with, it is all done.