Q & A: Steve Osacky

I sat down with Ohio hockey defenseman Steve Osacky to talk about life in the OU locker room, friendly trash-talking among teammates about the Stanley Cup playoffs, and growing up hockey-crazy Chicago.


Q: Why is the future so bright for the Blackhawks?

Osacky: They're finally on the right track. I guess that's the best way to put it. For a while, there wasn't a lot to look forward to in terms of players or winning or anything like that. There wasn't a lot of energy in the United Center, either. Now, they have young stars like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg to build around.

Q: How has the atmosphere at the United Center changed in recent years?

O: Well, there's a lot more people there now (laughing). I mean, just the energy around the team is totally different. People expect to see the Hawks win, and they want to see the star players on the team, too. When you sell out every night, it makes things more exciting and definitely louder, too.


Q: There are a lot of Pittsburgh Penguins fans on the hockey team. Any other Chicago fans?

O: Few and far between (laughing). There are a couple other guys on the team from Chicago, like Mike Peota and Paul Marshall. I'm probably the loudest Hawks fan, but every now and then you'll see a couple of the guys wearing Hawks gear, even more so now that they're going deep into the playoffs.


Q: How much trash-talking is there among your teammates with the Penguins, Red Wings and Blackhawks all going far into the postseason?

O: A ton. Some guys keep it cool, but for the most part, the Penguins fans are all obnoxious. There are some Detroit fans, like (assistant coach) Stavros and Justin Farmer. Jeremy Browning is a Wings fan, too. But the loudest and cockiest of them all is definitely (former Bobcat) Jeff Jepson.


Q: How bright is the future in Chicago?

O: It's really bright. You look at all of the young talent and guys that have yet to make it to the NHL, there are a ton of good players both on the team and in the system. Now that they're winning again and this year they're doing some damage, hockey in Chicago is only going to get bigger.