Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sat in his chair inside the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, confidently (and somewhat generically) answering questions during the NHL Draft's media day — ranging from his nerves about being a potential No. 1 pick to his defining moment as a player to his tastes in music ("anything but rap," for the record).
Then a writer asked about his parents. The Red Deer center said their names are Debbie Nugent, a nurses' aid, and Roger Hopkins, who is a retired salesman.
Why retired? To manage his son's career?
"He got sick a few years ago. Never really returned to work," said Nugent-Hopkins.
Got sick?
"He had lymphoma."
Nugent-Hopkins' body language changed. The 18-year-old player started anxiously pinching the skin on his neck while his eyes darted around the room more than before.
"It was about eight years ago now," he said of his father's diagnosis. "They didn't tell me or my brother right away. Then I found out a few years later. Obviously, it was tough to hear. No kid wants to hear that about his dad. But he battled through it, and he's doing really well.
"Not only have I worked hard for this moment, but my parents put so much into this too. It's going to be great for our while family."
This is the stuff that's not found in the Central Scouting reports or the NHL Draft bios. This is the stuff that probably stays in the confines of the family were it not for the fact that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the No. 1 overall pick, as selected by the Edmonton Oilers last Friday — and with that comes a level of celebrity and candor that Nugent-Hopkins must accept.
Even if it's something he admits doesn't come naturally; something in which he's still finding a comfort zone.
Nugent-Hopkins was born in Burnaby, B.C. in April 1993, picking up hockey around 4 years old and excelling at it. He ended up playing junior hockey for Red Deer, where he gained a level of celebrity and some experience with the media, but was never an outsized personality when dealing with the press.
"I used to be kind of shy when you first met me," he said.
That had to change in a hurry once the journey to the 2011 Draft began.
"This whole process has helped me open up to people I don't really know," he said. "If someone wants to talk to me, I feel like I'm more open to talking and I feel I'm better at that now. With all this media attention, you have to be outgoing,"
But becoming that outgoing personality is still a process, he said. Nugent-Hopkins isn't on Twitter. ("I think there's a fake Twitter account. Maybe I should make one, but not yet," he said.) He tries to avoid reading his press coverage, and said he hasn't been on a computer since the NHL draft combine.
"It can go either way," he said of media coverage. "If someone says something negative about you, you can let it affect you the wrong way. If someone says something too high about you, you can get too high. I just never really let myself get too into it."
Which is one reason Nugent-Hopkins is trying to get ahead of the expectations game. After being selected first overall, he said he's heard the Oilers are "in no rush" to get him to the NHL level, even though last season's No. 1 pick Taylor Hall went right to the pros.
"If I do go back to Junior, I won't be disappointed at all. It will be a great opportunity for us, Red Deer, as a team to hopefully to get to the Memorial Cup," he said.
"Personally it will be a good year of development for me too, but my goal now is to make the Oilers right now."
It would be a year of physical maturation, as the 6-foot-tall center continues to try and bulk up his now 174-pound frame.
It also would be another year of emotional maturation, as Nugent-Hopkins continues his career not as a top prospect but as a No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft and an Edmonton Oiler.
"It was a great experience, but I'm happy I know where I'm going," he told me on Saturday, on the draft's second day.
Nugent-Hopkins was making the rounds at Xcel Energy Center less than 24 hours after going first overall: Doing radio interviews, taking photos, signing autographs. Before he appeared as a guest on Edmonton radio, I asked Nugent-Hopkins about sharing the story of his father's illness with complete strangers during this run-up to the draft.
"It's made me more open. More outgoing," he said. "I never was that kind of guy. This year, I started to get more comfortable with it."
Knowing where he went in the draft and where he's going in the NHL, Nugent-Hopkins said it's the only way to be.
"When you're in the spotlight, you kinda have to become that."