Getting to know: Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan has 650 goals and 1340 points in 1490 career NHL games. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

BY MARK MALINOWSKI

STATUS: New York Rangers right winger.

HT: 6-foot-3  WT: 220 pounds

DOB: January 23, 1969 IN: Mimico, Ont.

Hockey Inspirations: "My three older brothers. They never came close to going pro or semi-pro or anything like that. Athletically - in hockey or lacrosse - I always tried to copy the way that they played."

Nicknames: "Ah well, every single member of my family, including myself, is called Shanny by mostly all of our friends. I've had some other stupid ones (that) never really lasted. Scott Gomez tried to get everyone calling me 'The Big Smooth.' But currently I think he's the only one who does it."

Hobbies/Interests: "Taking up golf in the off-season. I like to play chess with my kids. Every once in a while I beat them - just to teach them humility [smiles]. And I like going to the movies. Pretty normal stuff."

Favorite Movies: "Forrest Gump, Schindler's List, It's A Wonderful Life."

Favorite TV Shows: "All-time? Seinfeld - probably my favorite show of all-time. Right now, probably 30 Rock."

Last Book Read: "Last good book? [smiles] Can't remember the last book I read. The last good book I read probably - Trinity by Leon Uris. Maybe The Longest Day. Those are good books. I've read some other junky books [smiles]."

Musical Tastes: "Favorite group is The Who."

First Job: "Paperboy. (Remember the name of the paper?) The Etobicoke Guardian I think it was called."

First Car: "A 1980 (Plymouth) Volare, blue [smiles]. Power windows."

Current Car: "A blue Range Rover."

First Hockey Memory: "Probably first hockey memory is when I played house league in a league where every two minutes they sounded the buzzer to make the line change - just to keep the ice time even for all the kids. To speed up the game the referees used to have to come and pick me up and skate me off the ice 'cause it just took too long for me to get from one side of the rink to the bench. I was an ankle burner [smiles]."

Pre-Game Feeling: "Little bit of nervousness mixed with a lot of routines that keep me relaxed. For the most part I'm relaxed, but, you know, you feel the excitement kind of in your stomach. I've kind of learned to relax myself before games."

Favorite Meal: "A nice New York steak."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Vanilla."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Winning my first Stanley Cup (with Detroit in '97)."

Most Painful Moment: "Every time I've been eliminated in the playoffs."

Funny Hockey Memory: "Jason Strudwick's overtime goal this year in Pittsburgh was a highlight [smiles]."

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "Probably having to be picked up by the referees and carried off the ice when I was too young and too slow to skate off."

Closest Hockey Friends: "It's tough to pick a few. All my teammates have been good friends and special friends to me."

Funniest Players Encountered: "Ken Daneyko. Sean Avery. Tomas Holmstrom. All pretty funny guys."

Toughest Competitors: "The years I was in Detroit we had some pretty good wars with Dallas, so that meant going head-to-head a lot with Derian Hatcher. And we had some wars with Colorado, which meant I went head-to-head a lot with Adam Foote. You know, I think the three of us were in our prime and all played on Stanley Cup contenders, and had some pretty fierce battles over the years."

Favorite Players to Watch: "Crosby, Ovechkin and Rick Nash."

Favorite Uniforms: "New York Rangers."

Favorite Arena To Play In: "Madison Square Garden."

Last Vacation: "Nantucket."

People Qualities Most Admired: "Honesty."

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