Rats Off-Season Q&A With Defenseman Tim Conboy

Published on July 10, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


First of all, I want to say congratulations on your recent contract renewal. It's great to have you back and I'm sure you're pretty excited. What's your reaction to your new two-year deal?

I'm thrilled. I'm so excited to be coming back to Carolina's organization. It's the end of the year, I knew I was going to be a free agent when my contract is up, but there's nowhere else I wanted to go except back with Carolina. To be able to get a deal done and get re-signed back there for two years is tremendous.

You talk about two years. Do you feel like you made a big step when you have a one-way contract in the second year of your deal?

Definitely. I think that's a really good sign. It shows that they think I'm going to be a big part of their organization in the future. I also know that it means I haven't proven anything yet and I can't get complacent with where I'm at or settle with having a contract with them. I just want to keep that same attitude of always trying to improve and take it up to the next level.

You told me earlier, and you're not the only one to say it, that the Hurricanes have really treated you well and it is the only place you want to be. How come so many people say great things about the ‘Canes organization and how they treat their players?

Top to bottom, you look at the organization and it's everything you want. A class organization. The general manager, the coaching staff, the equipment staff, everything from top to bottom, you just couldn't ask for anything better. They got a great thing working right now; they're doing the right things.

You made your debut with the Canes last year and it seemed like you became an instant fan favorite as well. Were you at all surprised at how quickly the fan base really seemed to take to you?

Yeah, it was crazy. I think the first fight I had against Scott Parker they were playing that old trucker song "You Got a Great Big Convoy". (Laughs) I remember hearing that and thinking ‘Wow that was fast, I can't believe they even knew that song was out already.' It was definitely surprising to see that many people cheering for me every night, it was nice.

Obviously, you're where you want to be which is in the NHL. And to play in such a great atmosphere at the RBC Center, is that the pinnacle of what a hockey player dreams about?

Yeah, it's unbelievable. Going out there, you throw the littlest body check--it doesn't even have to be a big check, you can just be rubbing out a guy--and the place goes nuts. It's a pretty intense atmosphere to be in and something I think every kid dreams of when they step on the ice for the first time.

Does the big crowd add to your play? You have always been a pretty fiery, energetic guy. Does that just fuel your passion and hunger?

Definitely. You hear the roar of the crowd and it just puts a fire in your belly. You want to go out there and do something so they get loud again.

The other part of your first stint with Carolina was playing as a forward. Do you think that really makes a difference in your appeal to the team because of your versatility of being able to play both forward and defense?

You know I was telling everybody I probably don't even need to use a stick out there, so just stick me wherever and I'll just try to run guys over. (Laughs) But no, it was fun playing forward; it's something I've gotten to do a little bit before in my pro career. I'm glad they trust me enough to think I'm able to go back and forth like that. I just think it's a great asset for me to have.

Let's talk about what your goals are for this coming year, 2008-09. What are you personally hoping to accomplish this year?

To spend as much time as possible up in the NHL. I don't know how long that will be or if it will even be at all, but I just have to take whatever time I get up there and try to make the best of it like I did last year. Just keep that attitude of trying to not take any steps backwards, always trying to take another step forward every day and try to improve a little bit each day.

You said that you wouldn't be upset about coming to Albany if that is what's in the cards. Do you feel as though you have some unfinished business here in Albany?

Definitely. I wouldn't be upset in the least bit if I came to Albany. It's a great city; my wife and I love it there. And definitely, the unfinished business is still kind of hard. A month after the season, with the suspension and first round playoff loss, it was kind of salty to deal with for a little bit. So definitely I'd like to come back and get some games in there for sure.

Looking forward, do you feel like the few games in the NHL that you played was just an appetite teaser?

Yeah, definitely. I would hope so. That's the thing is you never know, so I can't get too comfortable; you always can improve, you always can do more. Even the best players in the league look to improve and do stuff better, so a guy like me shouldn't have any different of an attitude.

You're known as being a fitness-oriented guy, really working hard to be in the best shape possible. What do you do now that you've got the NHL motivation behind you? How does that affect your summer training?

It's been about the same the last few summers here. I've always had that in the back of my mind. On a day when I'm tired or maybe I don't want to do something, I think about playing in the NHL and it gives me that little extra tick I need to do my stuff. This week I actually just started with my personal trainer with a bunch of other local guys from around the area and we do all kinds of crazy stuff with a skating treadmill and all kinds of different lifts and stuff that this guy has so it's pretty good. I'm also doing a skating camp for high school kids all the way down through five years old. So I'm doing that Monday through Friday and it's fun being out there with the little kids and even the high school kids; you can pop in every once in a while and do a drill with them. They enjoy having me out there and I enjoy being out there. So it's been a great summer so far and it's actually going pretty fast. It's not too long before I'll be packing and heading down to Raleigh for camp.

What is your favorite age group when you work with some of the young kids, which ones are the most rewarding?

I'd say it's the youngest groups, the mites and the squirts. Those kids are always out there with a big smile on their face. They aren't out there thinking about anything else. As soon as they step out on the ice, they are having the time of their lives, so its fun to be in attendance to watch that.

It may seem like a long journey from there to where you are now, but can you remember what it was like to be a squirt or a mosquito back in the young days?

Definitely. Everyday I see them come out there it takes me back a little back. I'm glad to be saying that I can still go out joking around with Floody (Mark Flood) and guys like that, shooting pucks at Casey's (Casey Borer) skates, still kind of acting like a kid out there at practice every day.

Your younger brother Andrew is going to be a freshman at Michigan State this year. Are you looking forward to seeing what he can do playing Division I college hockey?

Oh yeah. They should have a pretty good team. I think they lost a couple of good players last year, but hopefully he can step in there and help out right away.

As an older brother, break down your younger brother's game. What does he have and how does he compare to the way you play?

He does a lot of the same things that I do. Same aggressiveness, he likes to mix it up and he is definitely a checker, he goes for the big hits. But he has something that I could never, ever master, and that's scoring goals. (Laughs) He's already about ten steps ahead of me in that department. He's going to be a pretty good player. He's a tall, lanky, gritty forward, so hopefully he can fit into that mold someday.

Does he have the Conboy spirit?

(Laughs) Oh yeah, he's pretty much a carbon copy.

He's got the scoring touch, yet you blasted a game-winning goal from the blue line in the final minute of your first game right back from Carolina last year. It seemed like that might be the beginning of many more goals.

(Laughs) I hope so. The wood stick's got a lot left in it; we'll put it that way.

You talked about your training earlier and some of the weird drills you're doing. How weird is that compared to the stuff Trevor Gillies is doing down in Augusta with his Mixed Martial Arts work outs, flipping giant tractor tires and pushing heavily loaded wheelbarrows?

(Laughs) I don't know if we'll get into anything like that, nothing like the Gill-dog. That's why he's the Gill-dog. No one can train like him and no one is on his level. He is just an animal.

Trevor said that he would be very interested in competing in an MMA fight, but that he won't because his entire family says no. Would you ever be interested in getting into the ring?

No, I wouldn't. But I would be interested in watching Gillies. (Laughs) I could train him and I think we could whip him into shape. Give him about six months and then maybe have him go up against a guy like Chuck Liddell (UFC Champion) for his first fight.

If you were training Gillies for a fight, who else from the River Rats would you want working in his corner?

Oh geez! That's a tough question. I'm going to have to go with my boy Casey just because he would have to be there to keep Gillies level-headed. He would just keep cracking those jokes to keep everyone mellow.

Speaking of Gillies and Borer, all three of you are really into fishing during the summer. How has that been going?

It's been awesome. The other day I just caught my first northern pike ever, so I was pretty excited about that. It wasn't too big or anything, but I'd never caught one before. There's nothing better than going out on a lake on a nice day and dropping a line in the water.

I hear there might be a fishing trip in the works for the three of you.

Yeah. Casey and I have gone a few times already, but I think we're going to drive up to Fargo, North Dakota in August and meet up with the Gill-dog when he's at the power skating school up there. That will be a good time and hopefully we'll have some stories to tell you about that trip.

Give us a little forecast of what a fishing excursion with Tim Conboy, Casey Borer and Trevor Gillies would be like.

(Laughs) That's a tough call. I guess I'll just say that it might be a little chaotic and a lot of fun.

My spies told me that you and your wife recently took a trip to Kansas and that you actually competed in a fishing tournament down there. How did it go?

That was my first time ever competing in a fishing tournament and it didn't go so well. (Laughs) I thought I was going to do well. I was warming up a few days before, doing pretty good catching some croppies and some bass. But then when it came time for the tournament to start I didn't catch a single fish. So my debut didn't go as well as I would have liked, but hopefully there's more tournaments to come.

Which River Rats teammate do you imagine would be the worst fisherman?

Nicolas Blanchard. (Laughs) I'm not sure if Blanch even knows what fishing is. (Laughs). If he actually does know and he goes fishing, that's also a sight that I'd like to witness.

What was your reaction to the news that Coach Rowe was heading to the NHL to be an assistant coach in Carolina?

I was so happy for him. He deserves it more than anybody. He is a tremendous coach; I mean just look at what he did with the team last year. Every year he has been in the AHL he has produced guys that go up the NHL and not just go up there but are very successful. That's all you have to look at, it's a testament of his abilities. Ask anyone who's ever played for him and they'll tell you right away how good of a coach he is and how good he is at teaching guys how to be a professional. I thought I was a professional my first two years out of college, but then I came to Albany with Coach Tom and he got me straightened out right away.

After two years of playing under Coach Rowe, would you point to him as an important factor of your ascent to the NHL?

Oh yeah, definitely. I learned more from him and Geordie (Kinnear) in the last two years than I had in my entire hockey career. They both just know so many little things that you don't even think about when you're out there that they incorporate into your game until it just becomes natural. It makes the game that much easier and it's been a tremendous opportunity to play for both of them.

Now that Tom is an assistant in Carolina and you're gunning to make the ‘Canes squad this year, is that even more special?

Yeah it's awesome. I'm so glad he's in the NHL, but also that he gets to stay in our organization. It will definitely be fun to have some familiar faces up there if I get a chance to be in Raleigh.

Did you have much interaction with new River Rats Head Coach Jeff Daniels during your time in Carolina last year?

J.D. kind of taught me "forward on the fly."(Laughs) When I got thrown in there and started at forward for that one game he was great, he pulled me aside and as we went along he worked with me a lot, telling me the little things I needed to work on or something I needed to do differently. He really helped me out a lot because even though I had played that position before, it was still relatively new to me.

Do you think he's going to make a nice transition into the head coach role in Albany?

Oh yeah, definitely. He's a great coach and he has all the right tools to be successful in Albany. Plus he's got a great assistant in Geordie, so I think the two of them will do really well this year.

You might not like this next question, but as a Red Sox fan I'm happy to ask you "How ‘bout them Twins?"

I knew this question was coming because the Red Sox just swept the Twins. (Laughs) I've actually be texting back-and-forth with Coiner (Keith Aucoin) these past few days, in disgust about how mad I am at the Red Sox. (Laughs). But the Twins have been going strong lately. Their only problem is that the White Sox keep winning too, the same problem that Boston is having with Tampa Bay. So hopefully Chicago will start losing some games soon.

Earlier this year we learned that Bryan Rodney is a Toronto Blue Jays fanatic. Would you say that you're a bigger Twins fan than his is a Jays fan?

I thought I was a huge Twins fan, until I came back to Albany from Carolina and I was road roommates with Rods. (Laughs) We barely got into our hotel room, didn't even have our bags unpacked, and he'd already be in my computer bag trying to get my laptop to order the Blue Jays game. And he would literally sit there the whole night and not move from the computer or say a word. He would watch the entire Blue Jays game online; from the first pitch to the last pitch. So, I thought I was a big baseball fan, but I can't say that I'm the biggest baseball fan on the team.

But you go to a lot more Twins games live don't you?

I might have him in that department. I've been to about five games this year.

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