Get To Know: Forward Adam Goodsir

#19 forward Adam Goodsir is in his second season with the Iowa Heartlanders and has been an important leader for the team as the Heartlanders make their way towards the Kelly Cup Playoffs. He chatted with Dir. of Communications David Fine about how this moment feels for the team, and what he hopes is a long playoff run for the Heartlanders.

Home Playoff Tickets are now available for our first-round series! While we are still waiting for our official dates and opponents, if you know you want to be here for this historic moment, make sure you lock in your seats by visiting iowaheartlanders.com/playoffs.

David Fine: Adam, a big day for the organization clinching their first-ever playoff berth at the end of March. You've been here for half the years, two of four years. How did it feel when you found out yesterday that the team was going to the playoffs? 

Adam Goodsir: Obviously was a great feeling just from a team standpoint, but also it's just an incredible milestone for the franchise and the organization. I think it's very special being a part of history, this is something that not too many people can say that they're a part of, so I think that's a really cool aspect of it. I mean, from the start of the year after we got through training camp I saw the group of guys that we had in there, I felt like playoffs was something that was very attainable for us. Our goal is to make a deep run into the playoffs here.

DF: A lot of the fans have been through the tough times through the first three years when the Heartlanders finished in last. So for you to say something like that, what sort of signs did you see even when the team started the year, lost the first two games to Fort Wayne? What kept that belief and prevented the locker room from splinting, even early on when the team was still trying to find itself?

 

Goodsir: Honestly, I think it was the guys that we had in the locker room, the character of all the players. Truthfully, every guy on the team is a great guy and a great person to have in the locker room. I think having that close locker room allowed us to band together and be like, ‘Alright. It's a 72 game season. We're not going to win every single game, two games aren’t going to define our season,’ and we just kept pushing forward.

DF: This year, there's been a lot of ups, which is awesome. What are some of your favorite games that you've taken part in this season? 

 

Goodsir: When we went to Wichita in January for a three-in-three. The first night was tough, and the second night just, to go through a ten-round shootout and come away with a win. I remember in the locker room saying that was a bounce-back game, and then the next night to have a 5-1 win that was a turning point, a statement for us. I think another big weekend was early in the year, when we went to Indy for their home opener at their new rink, and we knew that would be tough but, in both of those games to be down, in their barn, on the road, and come back and win each was another big turning point in a lot of guys' heads, especially mine.

DF: How did you hear that the Heartlanders clinched a playoff spot after that game against Wichita?

Goodsir: Once we came into the locker room and Derek [Damon] talked to us for a second about the game. Then Dames or someone said that Bloomington lost so we had officially clinched the playoff spot. It was after the game that we all found out together in the locker room.

DF: Going back, talk about your year this year. I know it's been a year where you've had to battle back from a few injuries or here or there and haven't been available in every game, but how do you feel that this year, in your second full season, has improved your game even more? 

Goodsir: Well, I see pro hockey as a whole other animal than college hockey. Just with the amount of games you play, your travel, it’s just a different lifestyle. So I feel like coming into this year, I felt very comfortable knowing where I was going to be, especially with the staff and a lot of the guys coming back on the team. In truth, they allowed me to have a big summer with my training, off ice and on ice training. I just have felt more and more confident on the ice in the games while I've been playing. I think my play has been speaking for itself in that sense.

DF: What is it about the way this team plays that fits your style and how that helps you?

Goodsir:  I'm a very hard-nosed north hockey player, and that's exactly the style that we play, it plays right into my hand being very hard on the forecheck, finishing every hit that I have a chance to do and going to the net and trying to score goals.

DF: You've worn letters before in your career and a couple of times this year you've had the “A” on. How has that been for you?

Goodsir: It's an honor to have that letter on your jersey. It's something that's it's a responsibility and it's something that means I will do anything that I can to help this team win. Regardless of that though, one thing I've tried to have consistently done throughout my career whether I'm wearing a letter or not I'm going try to be a leader and show guys how to do things the right way and pull the team in the right direction.