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Michigan Avenue - 2015 - Issue 7 - November - Duncan Keith

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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special that the season's fnally over and you can relax or that you've won the Cup. [Laughs] The Olympics were special in a different way—you're representing your country, and I've been able to do that twice so far, so it was pretty special to do that on home soil in Canada the frst time in 2010. What do you enjoy most about playing in the NHL? It's certainly the prestige of being a part of a league where there's only 600 to 700 jobs in the world. I don't think it matters what league you're in, anybody that plays hockey or a team sport would enjoy the camaraderie of being in a locker room on a daily basis. That never gets old. You talk to guys who end up retiring and they say that's what they miss the most, and I can believe it. You're surrounded by talented players. Are there any skills your teammates have that you're envious of? I wish I had Patrick Kane's puck-handling ability and some of his patience and poise. Marian Hossa—in tight spaces being able to guard the puck with his size, his strength, and his reach. You've seen before in the offensive zone he'll have two or three guys on him and he can just hold everybody off and handle the puck with one hand and beat guys. So all those offensive things that us defensemen don't get to do, I think we all admire that or wish we could be in those situations. What do you enjoy most about playing defense? What I've always liked about defense is being able to be the quarterback; you see the whole play and you can dictate the play. As a forward, you're reacting and trying to chase the puck, but as a defenseman, you always have the play in front of you. How has fatherhood changed your perspective of your life as a hockey player? It defnitely makes you realize that hockey's just a game—and it makes you feel a bit older, that's for sure, when [your son] starts picking up a hockey stick and he's slapping the puck around in the living room. I really enjoy watching him do that, and it makes me wonder with time going by so fast that it could be him doing what I'm doing before I know it. So as much as we want to win and we hate losing, no matter how bad a day I've had at the rink, I'll always have my son. Would you like him to follow in your footsteps and play hockey? It would be fun to follow his career, but at the same time I realize how hard it is and that hockey's not for everybody. Whatever he wants to do, I want to support. I was never pushed into hockey, so I don't want to be that guy that pushes his son. I want him to do whatever makes him happy. You've played your entire career with the Blackhawks, and you've signed a contract that's going to keep you with the team through 2022. What does Chicago and being a Blackhawk mean to you? It's very special for me to say that I was drafted by Chicago and it's been my only team. When I frst got [here], I was a little worried that it was such a big city and I didn't know anything, but now I just feel like I know it like the back of my hand. It's been amazing to be a part of such a frst-class organization in the city that is I think the best in North America. It's a great sports city, the people are hard-working, and I couldn't have been luckier to be drafted to Chicago when I did. I'm hoping that I have a lot more hockey ahead of me here and a lot more championships to celebrate with the fans. What do you appreciate about the fans? They're very passionate. The frst thing you notice is how many fans there are, actually—and Blackhawks fans are every where, and I think other players on other teams take notice of that and realize how special it is. Even when we play on the road, they're watching us out there in warm-ups, and it's packed. What do you love about Chicago? I like the fact that I can go out any night of the week and have a nice dinner. I like watching all the sports—baseball season, football, basketball. Cheering for all the different Chicago teams is fun, and you can get into it pretty good with some of the other guys that are from different cities. It's a big city, but to me it's a city that you can make small. You mentioned restaurants. Any particular places you're a fan of? I've always liked Girl & the Goat (809 W. Randolph St., 312-492-6262; girlandthegoat.com)—I don't go there very often, but the food is tough to beat coming from a small town [like I do]. Mastro's (520 N. Dearborn St., 312-521-5100; mastrosrestaurants.com) has good steaks and they're very nice to us, getting us in and taking care of my family. If I go for fsh, I like GT Fish & Oyster (531 N. Wells St., 312-929-3501; gtoyster.com), and Tavern on Rush (1031 N. Rush St., 312-664-9600; tavernonrush.com) is always nice after a game for a steak. I also like this little frozen custard place in my neighborhood called Scooter's (1658 W. Belmont Ave., 773-244-6415; scooters frozencustard.com). I'd eat there every night if I could, but I don't think it'd be the healthiest choice for me, especially before a game. If you weren't playing hockey, what do you think you'd be doing? I don't really have an answer, to be honest. Hockey's the only thing I've really done, and I have more to do. I know I've always been told that I should have a backup plan, but I don't. [Laughs] Are there any other local athletes that you're friends with? I've gotten to know [the UFC fghter] CM Punk over the years. He's from Chicago—his name stands for Chicago Made Punk—and he was a WWE champion. Now he's ventured over to the UFC, so I'm excited to watch him; I know he's been training really hard, and I hope he does well. How do you feel about the team's chances for the coming season? I like them. I don't think anybody can really count us out. We've got that experience, and we're not going to sit there and just rest on our laurels. We know that every team is going to be hungry to beat us, and that's part of what motivates us—to show teams that we're still the best. It's going to be a challenge, obviously. Like I said, there's a lot of great teams, great players out there, but if you look around our lineup, with the guys we've got on our team and the new guys we've got coming up, it's a good mix: a lot of speed, a lot of skill, and we just have to gel at the right time and step up come playoffs. Get into the playoffs, and then anything can happen. You've got a lot of time ahead of you on the ice, but when you do hang up your skates, what do you hope your legacy will be? At the end of the day, I try to play hard and compete hard and do everything I can to help the team win, and I guess I'd like to be known as a guy that left it all out on the ice and did everything he could to win, and be a respected teammate and a good teammate. That's all I really care about. MA opposite page: Men's quilted leather jacket, Porsche Design ($2,850). 520 N. Michigan Ave., Second Fl., 312-321-0911; porsche-design.us. Turtleneck, Canali ($295). Bloomingdale's, 900 N. Michigan Ave., 312-440-4460; bloomingdales.com. Trousers, Theory ($275). Bloomingdale's, see above 108  michiganavemag.com

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