All Access: Brendon Kearney

Photo By: USHL

A native of Northville, Michigan, Brendon Kearney has donned a variety of sweaters in his hockey career. He played for the Detroit Honeybaked Midget Major, the USHL's Team USA, the Langley Rivermen of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), and now the Chicago Steel. The Steel acquired Kearney in November of 2013, and he was named assistant captain for the 2014-2015 season. Kearney led the Steel to victory in Madison this past weekend, tallying his first career hat trick in the process. We had an opportunity to chat with the Steel forward prior to this weekend's game.


Q: You already have six more goals than you did last season and scored your first career hat trick last weekend, congratulations. Have you made any adjustments to your play this season?

Photo By: MJB Images

A: As far as Madison goes, it was a few lucky bounces going to the net. I worked hard going to the net, the puck found my stick a couple of times, and I was able to make the best of it. It was nothing too special or out of the ordinary. My biggest mindset this year was that I needed to shoot the puck a lot more. I talked about it with Coach McConnell at the end of last year, and it has been my main focus. I think this year I’m definitely shooting the puck and shooting it with a lot more confidence, which seems to be paying off for me.

Q: Do you have any specific hockey goals for this season? 

A: On a team level, we want to be a playoff team and have a shot to play for a championship. That’s my biggest goal and my number one goal going forward. My second goal is to find a place to play college hockey. Being in the USHL, you see it pretty much on a weekly basis - kids finding a place to play. I definitely hope I can find one as well here soon.

Q: What do you like most about playing for the Steel?

A: It’s a great group of guys. Obviously, we brought a big corps back from last year, and we picked up right where we left off. It’s a great group of guys who you can go out and play your game with. You don’t have to be afraid of making mistakes or getting into trouble with anyone. It’s a group of guys who understand each other and work well with the coaching staff. It’s fun to come to the rink everyday. It’s a great group of guys to be around and continue to work with and get better with.

Q: We know you’re a Detroit Red Wings fan. Did that factor in to your decision to pursue hockey?

A: When I was younger I would always go over to my grandpa’s house, and he would have Wings games on. I was still too young to know exactly what it was, but I was intrigued by it. That was how my parents knew to start me in hockey, and I picked it up and ran with it.

Q: When did you start playing hockey, and have you always played forward?

A: I started skating around age three. Everybody got a chance at goalie, but I didn’t like it too much. I played defense for maybe half a year at one point, and it just didn’t feel right either, so it’s always been forward for me. Getting the chance to score goals is pretty fun.

Photo By: MJB Images

Q: You’re a veteran player for the Steel this year and you were named one of the assistant captains. Can you talk about the type of leadership you bring to the team and how you’ve helped new players adjust?

A: I think the biggest thing for me is to lead by example. I’m not a huge vocal guy, but I can be if it’s needed. I like to go out and work hard and lead in that way, to show the newer guys what it takes to compete on a nightly basis in this league. It can be tough jumping from AAA hockey or high school hockey to [the USHL]. The grind is a lot different, and I try to share what I know with them, especially about maintaining over a long season. Again, I do that by leading through example.

Q: Speaking of leading by example, you are very involved in the Steel’s school programs and other community programs such as Project CARE, Hockey 101 and Score With Reading. Tell us a little about why you are so devoted and what you love about participating in these initiatives.

A: I think it’s just fun. I remember growing up and going to meet the Red Wings or the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL, they’re right down the street from where I grew up, and it was a big deal to me when I got to meet those hockey players or people I looked up to. I think it’s one of those giving back things, and I hope I can have as big of an impact on these kids as hockey players did on me when I was growing up and idolizing them. It’s fun to get out and see all the kids. You walk through the halls of the school and look like a rock star because the kids are excited, so it’s a lot of fun, a good time.

Photo By: MJB Images

Q: Can you talk about your hometown versus Chicago and the kind of support system you’ve found here in your billet family?

A: It’s been different, but it hasn’t been too big of an adjustment. [Detroit and Chicago] are really big hockey cities. Obviously, it’s tough to be a Red Wings fan down here. But it hasn’t been too big of a struggle to adjust because [Chicago] is a fun town. My billet family has made things incredibly easy on me to adjust and help me feel like I’m still at home. Even though I have two sisters at home and four little billet brothers here, it’s a great set-up and they do a great job. They come to every home game, and my billet brothers would definitely come to practice if they didn’t have school.

Q: The team has a short break coming up to celebrate the holidays. Do you have any plans while you’re at home?

A: I plan to spend time with family and friends. It’s tough during the long season to keep in contact with everybody, so I will try to see as many people as I can. I want to enjoy the break and rest up because we have a big second half of the season coming up, and we’re looking to make up some ground there.

Q: You head to Muskegon (17-7-1) this Friday night to take on the Lumberjacks. They’re sitting second in the Eastern Conference right now. How are the Steel preparing for this game and what comments do you have about the matchup?

A: Tomorrow night is a huge game for us. It’s the last game going into break, just one game on the weekend. We need two points, and that’s all we’re focused on right now. We’re getting in the mindset to go out and only play 60 minutes because that’s all we’ve got this weekend. We need to play the full 60 minutes hard, make it tough on them, and hopefully come out with a big two points going into break.

Photo By: MJB Images