Obviously, this is a new level, but the pressure has always been there,

Oh yeah. Definitely. It's going to be tough if [the Penguins] are not there in the playoffs, obviously, so I'd like to keep playing, and I'd love to represent my country. We'll see what happens, but it would definitely be something I'd be excited about doing.

It's been awesome. Obviously, at the start, when I first met him and started to live with him, he's an easy guy to talk to. But at the same time, you're always still uncomfortable. It's a guy you grew up watching and idolizing and now you're living with him and playing with him. So right now it's been great. We get along great.

I am putting pressure on myself to do my best and perform to my potential.

Obviously, I don't want to be in the box for over a hundred minutes during the season, but at the same time I have to try to play with an edge and battle out there.

It is so important to me to have my time away from hockey. Obviously, hockey is my passion; I love it. But definitely for me, time away from the rink and time when my mind isn't thinking about hockey is important.