Exclusive Interview with David Richard

Had a chance to catch up with David Richard for an exclusive interview and try to get to the bottom of the rumors about him and the upcoming season.

Let’s Go Birds: David Richard joining us here at http://www.letsgobirds.com/ for an exclusive interview about the upcoming season. David, I feel like the worst kept secret around the Tbirds right now is that you may not be coming back to the team this year. Can you tell Seattle fans what the situation is and whether you will be back this season?

David Richard: First off, I just wanted to say thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this for the people of Seattle. Right now as it stands the secrets or rumors that are flying around are true. I have chosen to bring my hockey career to an end after my 19 year old season. I made my decision about a month after the playoffs ended. When I first made the decision I told myself I wasn't going to discuss it with anyone, and just sit back and think about it to make sure it was the right decision for me and to keep myself happy. As I’m sure many of you are aware there is a lot of time and dedication put into playing Major Junior hockey. I felt at the end of the playoffs I lost the dedication to get myself prepared again for the upcoming season that is approaching soon. It took a lot of thought and I weighed my options carefully. In the end I said to myself if I can’t be 100% happy and dedicated to do it again, I don’t want to waste my time, the staff in Seattle, all the fans, and most of all the players’ time. I want to make it clear to everyone it had absolutely nothing to do with any single person involved with the organization. This was totally a personal decision. As for what the future holds for me at this point, I am going to take the year off and go to work. I haven’t completely locked something down for the winter but I have some options. This winter I will be applying for Fire Fighting College and making a career out of that someday soon.

LGB: Including playoffs, you played 290 games for the Thunderbirds… Talk a little bit about your experience playing in Seattle and tell us a little bit about your favorite memory or memories from playing in Seattle?

Richard: Well, it seems like just yesterday it all began. My experience in the organization was nothing but positive. Coming from a smaller city I didn’t really know what to expect moving to a city that is roughly 3 million people. All I can say is there is a lot of stuff you can do in Seattle that I will never be able to experience in Saskatoon. I made Seattle a true home away from home. I had great billets all four years and really enjoyed my time there. I think my favorite memory would have to be the move down to Kent. It was a good feeling coming into the city of Kent and having the city excited to have us there. I will never forget the opening game after Christmas. I also will never forget each and every player I played with. They guys are always with you in good times and bad. Another memory that comes to mind is when I scored my first and only hat trick in the playoffs against Kelowna.

LGB: Any other thoughts or words you would like to put out there?

Richard: I owe a big thanks to everyone that has supported me through the four years there. I will never forget the people that stood behind me even when the season got tough. You all made an impact in my career in some way. I hope to definitely make my way down to see everyone again in the near future. Thanks for the memories Seattle!