Quick Hits with Cameron Gaunce: Settling in Austin, Systems Differences and Consistency

Cameron Gaunce (Credit: Josh Rasmussen/Texas Stars)
Defenseman Cameron Gaunce was acquired last season in an almost-forgotten trade deadline deal, which saw forward Tomas Vincour depart for Colorado. Gaunce made an impact at the end of last season on a pairing with Kevin Connauton, also a trade deadline acquisition. I got a chance to talk with him after Thursday's practice.

On his eye injury, which he sustained in the last 90 seconds of last Friday's game at San Antonio:
"It's healed up pretty well. I'll get the stitches out today [Thursday]. I knew there was only a minute left. I could tell with the amount of blood I wasn't going to skate to the bench or stay down so I just skated right off."
On what he thought of his time in Dallas:
"I thought it went well. I would have liked to have more time, but they have a lot of players there and they want to see the players that they believe are going to start there. I thought I did well and left a good impression. I don't have any regrets from camp. I thought I did well in the games."
On what he wants to work on to make it to the next level:
"The biggest thing for me is consistency. If I'm going to play there, I need to keep it simple: be a defensive defenseman and show them night in and night out that's the role I can play and can thrive at it. When I go up, I want to continue that game."
On how he's settling in and if it's any less stressful than last year when he joined the team after a trade:
"Actually no. At the start of the year, you've got to find an apartment. It's a new area for me so I'm leaning on the guys who've been here a lot for their recommendations. You go into a leasing office and you only know so much by what they say. You can read reviews online but even those you don't know how much to trust because you don't know who's writing them. This time of year is hectic, and you like to get it over to settle and worry about hockey."
On differences he sees in Texas's systems rolling down from Lindy Ruff's systems in Dallas:
"There are a couple things here and there. There's a couple different ways we play rushes, forecheck, and things like that. It's nothing drastic. We had a similar system last year but there are a few small differences. It's high tempo and hard work. When you narrow it down to its core features, it's the same."

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