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I wondered, when interviewing a hockey player for Wheels, let’s say the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Kyle Wellwood, was the use of a hockey/driving analogy really necessary? Or could I just skip all references to the young forward “driving” the puck, “speeding” down the ice and “steering” his team toward victory?
Then again, “shifting gears” seemed like a rather appropriate term to use. After all, when captain Mats Sundin was recently sidelined with a partial ligament tear in his right elbow Kyle Wellwood had abruptly switched, from right wing, to playing center on the Leafs top line.
What better time then to learn a little more about the 23-year old from Oldcastle, Ontario.
So after a morning practice at the Air Canada Centre I sat down amidst the babel that is the Leafs’ locker room and asked an amicable (though not exactly effusive) Kyle Wellwood a few questions about his experiences behind the wheel.
Q. How did you get to practice today?
A. The car you mean, right? I drive a Volkswagen Touareg, 2004.
Q. Is that the vehicle you bought when you signed on with the Leafs?
A. Yeah, when I signed the contract that’s the car I bought. So I’ve had it for about three years now.
Q. Was that your first car?
A. No, I had a Ford F150 that was my billet’s in Belleville that I drove, which was an old one, an ’89. And then I had an old BMW 325i when I played in Windsor.
Q. Did you pass your driver’s test on the first try – you went through the graduated licencing system, right? G1, G2?
A. Yeah, I passed both tests first time.
Q. Did you take driver’s ed?
A. No
Q. Who taught you to drive?
A. My dad I guess, to start.
Q. How did that go?
A. Good, I grew up in the country and I guess I already had experience driving lawn mowers, and motorcycles and go-carts, that a car wasn’t that difficult.
Q. Gearhead or haven’t got a clue?
A. Haven’t got a clue how to fix cars. But I would know what people are talking about. I would know stats and stuff.
Q. Are your cars coddled or cluttered, filthy or flawless?
A. I’d say they’re about average to clean.
Q. When you’re behind the wheel are the tunes blaring or is it quiet?
A. It depends what kind of mood I’m in. Definitely for the most part it’s quiet, but if I’m going to a game, or after a game, or going out at night then it’s loud.
Q. And what’s in your – is it a MP3 or CD player?
A. Six-disc CD player. There’s a couple of mixed rap CDs. I’ve got the Fray, the Killers, and then a couple other mixed CDs.
Q. Given the opportunity to slip behind the wheel of any vehicle what would it be?
A. It would be a Lamborghini Murcielago.
Q. NASCAR or no?
A. No.
Q. Finish this sentence: I’m a pretty good driver but I do have a habit of _________.
A. Driving too fast.
Q. Any tickets or haven’t been caught yet?
A. I had tickets when I was younger (for speeding), but I haven’t had a ticket in a couple of years now.
Q. What’s your pet peeve of other drivers?
A. Bad mergers.
Q. So you’ve driven around Oldcastle, - which is, what, a suburb of Windsor, Belleville, Windsor and now Toronto. Have you noticed any differences in driving styles in different cities?
A. Oldcastle is kind of like a small farm town. People are very good drivers in Toronto. They’re courteous too. I drove in St. John’s Newfoundland too, for a few years. That’s a little more difficult.
Q. On a road trip whom would you most like to invite along to ride shotgun?
A. From the team or just in general?
Whatever you want.
Dave Chappelle
Q. And where would you go?
A. I don’t know. If I was with Dave Chappelle I’d go to, like, Chicago or L.A. or something like that….L.A.
Q. You can’t have a road trip without a favourite snack, which is___?
A. For a road trip? Beef jerky.
Q. Is there ant option on a car you could not do without?
A. Navigation.
Q. Who is the absolute worst driver you’ve ever been with?
A. Matt Stajan (He said with a hint of a smile.)
Q. Best day on the road? Is there a road trip that sticks out in your mind?
A. Yes, with a friend of mine from Kingston, driving around. We went to Mont Tremblant.
Q. And the worst day on the road?
A. Stuck in traffic in Toronto, I guess. I’ve never been in an accident, so I’ve never had that bad of a day I guess.
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