Lawrence inspired by Crosby, Celebrini on road to NHL Draft

After the Pittsburgh Penguins won it all in 2016, Cole Harbour, N.S. native Sidney Crosby brought the Stanley Cup home for a celebration.

“I was like eight years old, but it was an unreal experience,” said Fredericton native Tynan Lawrence with a big smile. “I still remember it to this day.”

More than any one moment, it was the feeling that resonated.

“Just how much the East Coast is behind him and supports him, and just how everyone is so happy for him,” the 17-year-old Boston University centre recalled. “It’s a big thing.”

Lawrence grew up idolizing Crosby and continues to cheer for the Penguins. It’s easy to understand why Pittsburgh’s captain is so beloved, especially in Atlantic Canada.

“Just how he carries himself off the ice and around people,” Lawrence said. “He’s an unreal guy, it seems.”

On the ice, Crosby is also the ultimate role model.

“He thinks the game the right way,” Lawrence noted. “He’s always in the right spot. He does the right things and, no matter who you play him with, he always finds a way to make them better.”

Lawrence, who came in No. 7 on NHL Central Scouting’s final list of North American skaters, is now hoping to help inspire the next generation of hockey players from the Maritimes. He will proudly carry the New Brunswick flag into next month’s draft in Buffalo.

“It means a lot,” he said. “There’s not a lot of [NHL] players that come out of here all the time, so being able to kind of represent your native province is always a great experience ... It’s one big community that supports each other and I’m very lucky to have that with me.”

During a conversation with TSN, Lawrence reflected on a roller-coaster season that saw him make the jump from the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL to the NCAA in January. He also shared why Macklin Celebrini and Nick Suzuki are players he seeks to emulate. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.

TSN: Who inspired you growing up in New Brunswick?

Lawrence: Jake Allen. He is a big name. He always did camps. I always used to go to his hockey schools or whatever around town. He was the main guy from the same town I am who is playing in the NHL.

TSN: What did you take away from talking with him?

Lawrence: He’s one of those guys where you can’t really tell he’s an NHL player if you just met him on the street with how humble he is and what a great guy he is. Just kind of being able to talk to him like that, it’s always great.

TSN: How much do you feel the pride from back home as you’ve pursued your hockey career?

Lawrence: Every step of the way it grows and grows with more people reaching out and supporting you. When you come back home, every time you skate or practice or you do mini skates with kids or something like that, you keep building your community and feel that getting bigger and bigger behind you.

TSN: In his post-lottery mock draft, our TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button had you going No. 8 to the Winnipeg Jets. What do you think about the idea of playing for a Canadian team?

Lawrence: Being a Canadian-born player, a Canadian kid, I think that’d be an unreal experience. Getting to stay in Canada, play in your home country and being able to have that support and build on that would be awesome.

TSN: How do you think you’d handle all the attention in a Canadian market?

Lawrence: It’d be fine. I feel like I do a pretty good job of staying level-headed with the spotlight and stuff like that. Being able to stay with my game on the ice won’t be a big issue.

TSN: What type of player are you?

Lawrence: A fast, 200-foot centre that has great habits and details and doesn’t cheat the game. A guy that plays the right way and is one of the leaders that can drive a line and make their teammates better.

TSN: Crosby was your role model growing up, but is there a player that you find plays your style in the NHL?

Lawrence: I like to watch guys like Nick Suzuki and Macklin Celebrini, who are big leaders on their team. They both help out their linemates. They’re both 200-foot guys. You watch them play and they have great little habits and details. They see the ice really well. I feel like every time I get to watch them on TV I love learning new things from them.

TSN: Suzuki’s line hasn’t been as productive as usual so far in the playoffs for the Montreal Canadiens, but he’s still making a significant impact. What are you noticing?

Lawrence: Last game he was going every other shift a couple times and just mixing, matching lines. I feel like just the impact he has, no matter who his linemates are, just him being out there, his presence, I feel like it really helps out his team a lot.

TSN: What did you learn from how Celebrini made the jump from the USHL to college?

Lawrence: He played at BU, so had the same coaches. They told me a little bit about how he came in and how he started, how he kept progressing throughout the year and the little things he did. I didn’t talk to him. I don’t know him at all. But just being able to follow and learn what he’s done and kind of mimic that as best as I can is always a great thing.

TSN: What’s something you stole from the Celebrini playbook?

Lawrence: Just little things. Watching how he plays away from the puck, his details are unbelievable. How hard everyone says he works is something that you want to be known for and I try to mimic that.

TSN: What was your welcome-to-the-NCAA moment?

Lawrence: Just stepping out there and seeing the student sections for the first time in person. Going to an away rink and seeing your new home crowd is a big thing. It was a really exciting moment and gets your adrenaline going.

TSN: What stood out about the student section?

Lawrence: The band and just how loud they get for anything throughout the game. Even warmups, they’re there before you even get on the ice. You hear the band and it sets the tone for the night.

TSN: What’s it like playing on the road in the NCAA?

Lawrence: It’s different. It’s a lot of fun walking into an away building and being the villain and playing in front of other students, their whole school, their fans in an away rink, it’s always a lot of fun. I love doing it.

TSN: You produced seven points in 18 games with the Terriers. What would you say was the biggest challenge for you this season?

Lawrence: Getting used to wherever I’m playing. Going from one league to another and then international hockey and back down to your own age, and just being able to adapt and learning to play with new guys all the time and new linemates. I feel like that’s kind of the biggest adjustment. But once you get kind of familiar with the place, it gets better.

TSN: How do you deal with everything mentally?

Lawrence: It’s just part of the game. I love playing hockey and I feel like that makes it a lot easier. I want to be there. I want to do it. I want to learn and get better. I feel like every day just show up and it’s not really draining mentally, because I want to do it so bad, so I feel like it gets pretty easy.

TSN: Due to a couple injuries, you didn’t really get going this season until late November. What was it like dealing with that? Lawrence: It’s definitely a challenge. Working so hard in the summer and then going into training camp and getting a pretty, pretty long injury and delaying the start of your year isn’t what you hope for. But you stay strong mentally and build and stay focussed and be ready so when you come back you can be the same player you were.

TSN: What was your best moment this season?

Lawrence: I feel there’s a lot of great moments. Probably just when you step on the ice with BU and make it to college. Not everyone gets to play in college a year early, so being able to get that opportunity and have that play out.

TSN: You have an amazing legacy with Lumberjacks having won the Clark Cup last year. You were named MVP of the playoffs after recording 18 points in 14 games. What were you most proud of about that run?

Lawrence: How close we were as a team and just how every guy bought in. We were brothers on that team so having the season end on top of the league like that, it was an unreal moment.

TSN: Where do you keep your championship ring and MVP trophy?

Lawrence: I think the ring is downstairs on the kitchen counter for anyone to see. The MVP trophy is in my room with the other stuff I’ve gotten over the years.

TSN: When you look at it, what do you feel?

Lawrence: It motivates me knowing where I got with all the hard work, but also how I can continue that and the other things I can get from that as well.

TSN: How do you deal with pressure?

Lawrence: At the end of the day, I don’t really feel like it’s pressure. You’re playing hockey. It’s just excitement. You’re ready to get up and have fun with the game. Whether it’s playoffs or regular season, it’s always competitive. You always get up and you live for those moments and you gotta show up in the big-time moments.

TSN: How are you preparing for the scouting combine?

Lawrence: I’m at home training and getting ready for all the off-ice stuff and the interviews there. I’ve been working out every day during the week and getting my body prepped and ready.

TSN: Is there any fitness test that you are dreading?

Lawrence: Not really. I feel like they’re all gonna be different in their own ways. A couple of my teammates at BU who said they didn’t really like the bike test that much, so I guess we’re going to have to see how that one goes. But I think it’s going to be an exciting time no matter what.

TSN: How do you prepare for interviews?

Lawrence: Get used to talking in front a bunch of people. Talking and practising what you’re going to say and, if someone catches you off guard, just being able to kind of react and think on time.

TSN: There’s usually strange questions mixed in. Have any of the guys at BU given you a heads up on that?

Lawrence: They change every year, but a couple of my buddies have definitely gotten stumped before. They’ll give me tips here and there to find a way to think about, you know, how to answer questions in a good way.

TSN: ‘What animal would you be?’ always seems to get asked. Do you have something locked and loaded for that one?

Lawrence: Not yet. I feel like I’ve kind of narrowed it down. I got a pretty good idea.

TSN: What are you leaning toward?

Lawrence: A wolf. They are in a pack and a hockey team is a pack mentality. Everyone’s together and no matter who you are, you do everything together. And they’re predators. They hunt and they don’t get hunted.

TSN: Why do you wear number 11?

Lawrence: Growing up I always have. My brother wore it and my dad wore it, so I feel like I’ve always just liked it. I like the two ones. It’s kind of clean and simple, so I feel like it suits me. I’ve always just stuck with it.