Concussions are still kind of a mysterious thing.

It's a little bit overwhelming seeing this kind of reaction to my arrival, but I guess I'm prepared for it, ... I heard that there was a lot of excitement in the city. I heard how Pittsburgh was a great sports town.

For me, I've learned that the best thing is to focus on the team you play for and yourself and what you need to do.

The biggest thing for me is the passion that I've always had for hockey. I remember growing up, no matter what I did in life, my parents always told me to try to do my best at it and be my best. I can say going through different things that that passion is the most important part. It's not skills or talent or any of that stuff.

In football, every play, play after play, there's that physicality. Football players only play once a week, so they must really need to rest. That does kind of tell you how physical the sport is. But in hockey, you have the boards. I just couldn't say which is more physical.

It's going to be nice just to talk to him and talk about some hockey things. It's been busy, with the lottery and the draft, and I just want to get started and see what the level of play is like and get out there and push myself and get ready for the season.