2024 NHL Draft Selections: Kevin He (109th Overall, Winnipeg Jets)
how does it feel uh speechless uh it’s a huge honor especially drafted by you know such an or organization like Winnipeg um huge honor I’m still a little shocked a little speechless right now but yeah still try to soak it in how were the nerves going to bed last night trying to sleep waking up this morning honestly I thought I was going to be like much more nervous and anxious but uh I was pretty at peace and uh heading today I was pretty calm actually so uh who’s all here with you today yeah I got a big big group so I have my family uh my bill family made the trip down um all my aunts and cousins are here and all the staff from Niagara the owner GM all of them are here so my agent how cool is it to have your Billet family down here somebody who you’ve obviously grown very close to the last couple years at nag it’s super amazing you know it’s kind of last minute called it and then uh yeah obviously uh my Billet brother gave me a little hug so I haven’t seen him in a bit and then uh yeah uh what have the niagar a dogs meant getting you to this moment yeah it’s been everything you know they helped me so much you know developing as a person and player and I can’t thank him enough for it what does 16-year-old Kevin he how far has he come from then to now yeah uh just even not not even from 16 but growing up I bounced around a little bit so uh obviously born in China and moved to Montreal and into Toronto so bounced around a little bit and yeah it’s a dream come true talk a little bit about the honor of being the first the earliest Chinese born player in NH it’s incredible huge honor um I have a lot of you know fans texting me and stuff right before the draft and wishing me good luck and showing the support so it’s a huge honor for me do you think this will help grow the sport in China at all what are your thoughts about I hope so yeah I I hope to be a role model for the kids you know try to pick up hockey and stuff so I I hope so how did hockey become your passion then Kevin oh my dad did studies abroad uh University of monton and he picked it up from there and I fell in love with that I started skiing with my dad I was really young I did a rollerblading so you know in China they don’t have hockey arenas but they had these ice pads in in the malls so I start started skating my dad over there and did a lot of rollerblading and then I started playing uh in a league competitive hockey when I moved to Montreal so how old were you when you moved to Montreal there five and half and a half yeah yeah what was it like when you played in that competitive league for the first time and on the ice and all that honestly I I just remember sking down falling trying and get back up and falling again so that was my first uh initial uh memory I have did you know when the trade came that it might be for you uh yeah I think yeah my agent said you know this could be this could be it so I was kind of uh anxiously waiting there a little bit but yeah maybe a little bit but I wasn’t sure for what do you know about Winnipeg uh another one of my friends there uh Kobe Barlo he was selected there so I have some some friends down there and uh I haven’t been to Winnipeg but it’ll be fun so when you came in Canada you didn’t speak English correct no I didn’t and you didn’t speak French either no so where did you pick up English and where did you pick up French yeah so I went to full French school was when I was in Montreal so that’s where I picked up French and in English I kind of just picked it up along the way and especially when I moved to Toronto I English school so kind of just picked uh picked up both of them how would you describe your game for folks who haven’t watched you uh competitive you know um I’m a I’m a hungry player I want to win I always play at the chip on my shoulder and skilled as well can skate well and shoot so speed is big in game isn’t it yes it talk about that a little bit yeah it’s something I’ve always worked on growing up a lot of you know power skating coaches a lot of skating uh it’s something I’ve been prioritizing working on ever since I was a little kid what do you think is going to be your biggest challenge in making it to the NHL as you sit here honestly I think I have to put on a little bit more weight uh so I’ve been working with that uh especially a lot of thanks to Matt nickel so we have a good program going on there in Toronto so yeah we got a chance to meet goldby when the Jets drafted him and obviously developing Camp last year giving you any pro tips about what Dev Camp’s going to look like uh not really I’m going to reach out to him actually so but I did talk with them he said it was incredible experience just kind of uh especially for the draft to try to soak it all in and be try to be in the moment still a bunch of family back in China too uh most of my family are in the States but I always have my grandparents still in China yeah end up going from China to Montreal to Toronto uh well this is my dad’s my dad’s work so that moved them for from uh from China and Montreal and then obviously um a little bit for hockey when I moov to Toronto so when did you move to Toronto when I was 12 yeah what does your dad do he’s a account favorite team Winnipeg Jets now let’s go uh growing up uh so my favorite player was pow bur so I I watched a lot of the Canucks play yeah but obviously HPS fan I went to a few hals game I haven’t been to a Leafs game actually surprisingly but I’ve been to a few hals game when I was younger which part of your game you need to work on in the summer time uh obviously like my physical aspect I think put on a little bit more weight yeah that’s going to help a lot I think I guess having had exposure to having had exposure to Montreal dra what does it mean to be drafted through a Canadian Market when everything that comes with that yeah I think it means a lot and uh obviously win it pack it’s not too far I think hopefully my dad can um you know come for me at whether it’s camp or something so yeah you spoke about the honor of being drafted but just kind of restate what is it like sitting here you’ve just been drafted in the fourth round of the NHL draft what’s what’s going through your mind uh everything Lally so um a lot of things and um still trying to soak it in and try and stay in the moment but um obviously I have my family here with me so that’s been going on a lot and uh yeah I’m an uncle now I have two little nephews one is 6 months old and the other one’s a year and a half so uh that’s my first time seeing them so um got to play with them a little bit and uh yeah how big of an honor is this it’s huge it means a lot to me and my family it really really does so you think this shows just how Global the game has become yes I think so yeah uh I looked up to guys like jro growing up and um so I think hopefully I can aspire to be a role model and
Niagara IceDogs forward Kevin He spoke after being selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
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