From the humble farming roots of Rouleau, Saskatchewan to the Sunshine State.
Former Brandon Wheat Kings’ captain Keith Aulie is enjoying plying his trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"The climates a lot different then back home in Saskatchewan. I will say my family and friends sure like to come see me. I don’t know if they like to see me as much as they like to lie on the beach," said Aulie on this week’s Monday Sports Talk on CKLQ, "We have really good fans there, we have a good organization with good ownership and they’ve done a great job with the marketing of the team and really getting fans to buy in."
The blueliner inked a one-year, one-way contract with the Bolts during the summer and is beginning to learn the lay of the NHL land and what it takes to succeed.
The 24-year-old has played 131 career games, collecting four goals, 12 points and 125 penalty minutes.
"You really got to be consistent, especially in my case. I have to come to the rink everyday and be as good as I can be. If I slip up for a little bit, I’m not going to be around. That’s probably the biggest thing," said Aulie.
The 2013-2014 season has been a black and blue one for Aulie with a separated shoulder and most recently a broken hand limiting him to just 10 games.
"It’s just kind of been a long season for me. I feel like I’ve hardly played any hockey yet, it’s been kind of tough going. It’s nice to be healthy again and our team’s been playing pretty well this season, so it’s been exciting," added Aulie.
Aulie and his Lightning have three games this week before the Olympic break and sit in third-place in the Eastern Conference with a 32-18-5 record.
The full conversation is below from this week’s edition of Monday Sports Talk…
###NEWS_VIDEO_1###
Black & Blue Season for Aulie
By Tyler Crayston
Feb 4, 2014 | 7:25 AM