Garrett Stafford - Alternate Captain
Number: 27
Position: Defense
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 175
Birthday: 1-28-80
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Last team: Des Moines Buccaneers

Player Biography

Garrett is a returning Buccaneer, and this will be his second season with the team. He is currently a senior at Valley High School in Des Moines. Garrett's superstition is to tape each of his shin guards 4 times. A native of Los Angeles, California, he says he would probably be surfing if he weren't playing for the Bucs.

Player Interview

4/9/98

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

Garrett: Los Angeles, California.

Steve: When you say Los Angeles, that is a big place. Do yu live in the city or the suburbs?

Garrett: It is actually the west side of Los Angeles, near UCLA.

Steve: So it is more towards the ocean then?

Garrett: Yeah, real close.

Steve: Okay. Tell me a little bit about your family, your brothers, your sisters, your parents.

Garrett: I have one sister; she is 16. Her name is Shane. My father’s name is James and my mother’s name is Patricia. My dad is an architect and my mother is a flight attendant.

Steve: Did any of them play hockey?

Garrett: No, none of them played hockey. Actually, I got my dad into hockey when I first started.

Steve: How did you start playing hockey?

Garrett: One summer day my mom took us down to the local rink to go public skating, just out of the blue and something to do in the summer. We got there and the Los Angeles Kings were practicing so we stayed and watched the practice. That was the first time I ever really saw hockey and I just told my mom that is what I wanted to do, but she said I had to learn how to skate before I played. So I learned how to roller skate for like a year and then she finally let me play.

Steve: How old were you when that happened?

Garrett: Seven.

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

Garrett: Yeah, they have.

Steve: Your sister and mom and everybody?

Garrett: Yeah, they have come out a few times.

Steve: What is your advice to young hockey players?

Garrett: Just commit yourself to the game. If you really like it, try to work on your skills. Be a good sport, be competitive.

Steve: Okay. Tell me about the past teams that you’ve played for.

Garrett: All the teams I played for before the Bucs have been in California. I played midget and AAA when I was 14. Then my last two years of midget I played for the Anaheim Junior Ducks. Actually we played Jimmy Jackson

Steve: Oh, you did?

Garrett: Yeah.

Steve: Who won?

Garrett: We did! The California team beat the Michigan team!

Steve: How much did you beat them by? Did you kill them?

Garrett: Was it 5-2?

Jim Jackson: Yeah, something like that.

Garrett: Yeah, 5-2.

Steve: Embarrassing, huh?

Jim Jackson: We won states that year though.

Steve: And then after you played for the Anaheim Junior Ducks, where did you go from there?

Garrett: I came to the Bucs.

Steve: How did you end up playing for the Bucs?

Garrett: I got recruited by the Bucs because I went to Select 16, the USA camp during the summer, and they saw me there. Then I actually came late to the team. I didn’t have a team to play for the next year, so they just picked me up as a seventh defense man and that is how I got on the team.

Steve: When did you know that hockey was going to be a major thing in your life?

Garrett: Probably my second year of midgets. Like when college comes into the picture and stuff like that is when I really started thinking about it, like going away to prep school or something.

Steve: What is the best thing about being a Buc?

Garrett: The best thing?

Steve: Some of the things you like about being on the Buccaneers.

Garrett: It is, I don’t know, it is just hockey. It is hockey, it is the fan support, just all around. The organization, you know. Actually, the best thing I like about being a Buc is playing in the games.

Steve: Actually playing the games?

Garrett: Yeah, the funnest part.

Steve: So what is it about hockey that you really like?

Garrett: It is the competitiveness. That is what I love about it. The quickness and it is the fastest game in the world, you know. That is what I like about it.

Steve: What is one of your greatest athletic moments in hockey?

Garrett: Winning the Anderson Cup.

Steve: Tell me about it.

Garrett: It was a great feeling. To do it at home, too, that was pretty sweet.

Steve: What are your plans for hockey in the future?

Garrett: Go to college and play four years of Division I hopefully.

Steve: Now do you have another year with the Bucs, or how long can you play with the Bucs?

Garrett: I can play with the Bucs for three more years.

Steve: Three more years?

Garrett: Yeah.

Steve: Are you looking at any colleges right now, or are any colleges looking at you?

Garrett: Yeah, a few but nothing serious. I will probably stay another year.

Steve: So you get a good solid offer somewhere?

Garrett: Yeah, hopefully.

Steve: Do you have any place you would like to end up if you could? Do you have any teams you like, or is it going to be back on the west coast?

Garrett: Demographically and geographically it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care where; west coast, east coast. I just want to go to a big hockey school, maybe like Colorado College, Michigan, Wisconsin, some place like that.

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

Garrett: The most embarrassing. Probably being beat one on one by this kid named Weigend on Lincoln during the last series. That was pretty embarrassing.

Steve: The last series, that was the round two of the playoffs.

Garrett: Yeah, against Lincoln.

Steve: Okay, he was coming in on you or something?

Garrett: Yeah, he burned me bad.

Steve: So you made up for it by burning somebody else on a short handed goal, right?

Garrett: Yeah!

Steve: Do you have a nickname?

Garrett: Just Staff.

Steve: What are your hobbies?

Garrett: Hobbies? Like back home or here, what do you mean?

Steve: Well, when you are not playing hockey what do you like to do?

Garrett: I like to surf, go to the beach every day.

Steve: So in the summers you go home and surf?

Garrett: Yeah.

Steve: If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Garrett: Put it in the bank.

Steve: Not spend any of it?

Garrett: Probably not. I don’t know, I might buy a car or something with it. Collect some interest.

Steve: I can’t imagine living without . . .

Garrett: Hockey.

Steve: The fans probably don’t know that . . .

Garrett: By now they probably know I am from Los Angeles.

Steve: Is there really a stigma or do people look down at you for being from California?

Garrett: I think so. Like in the hockey world?

Steve: Yeah, in the hockey world.

Garrett: I think so. Yeah, I definitely think so cause like, you know, it is not known for hockey so they are like oh, you know, who is this kid? For example, between me and like Jimmy, you know, he is from Michigan.

Steve: Right.

Garrett: For example, if you compare Jim Jackson and I - he is from Michigan and I am from Los Angeles. If you did not know us, you would wonder if I was any good just becuase of where I am from. I think I have to jump over a few more humps to get to the same place as someone else does.

Steve: Tell me about hockey in California. Obviously, once California gets hooked on hockey they are going to lead the whole world in hockey. There are just so many people there, right?

Garrett: You are right, there are so many people playing hockey already.

Steve: Is hockey going big there now?

Garrett: Definitely, it really is. Just in southern California alone, there must be 25 rinks. There are a lot of kids playing, you know. There’s a lot of kids, and if you just put a small percentage in front of that, you know, there is going to be a lot of hockey talent. It is really blowing up, and roller hockey is really big out there too.

Steve: Do you play roller hockey?

Garrett: Yeah, in the summer.

Steve: Do you play on a team out in California?

Garrett: Yeah, a couple. Me and Noah Clarke actually play together.

Steve: Is there anything else you would like to tell the fans?

Garrett: Just thanks for all the support and stay behind us.