New Chicago Blackhawks brawler Dan Carcillo, a.k.a. "Carbomb," admits that he wasn't a fan favorite when he arrived to play for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009.
"I wasn't very liked when I got to Philadelphia. They traded a well-liked player for me," he said, in reference to the deal that sent Scottie Upshall to the Phoenix Coyotes.
"I think wherever I've played, I've just tried to play the game with emotion. Sometimes the emotions get the best of me. Over time, I've learned to hone it. I'm going to have to do the same thing here," he said. "Everything I do, I try to do as hard as I can, and with a lot of passion. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but most of the time it works out. Fans here will see that, and hopefully will embrace it."
Another surefire way to get the local fans to embrace you quickly?
Calling out their arch rivals, which Dan Carcillo did when asked about the Vancouver Canucks.
"I watched that series. I don't know … I'm actually pretty excited to play them, because there are a few guys there that play a little bit outside of their shoes. I think I can keep most of those guys in check when we play them this year. I'm pretty excited to play them," he said (watch the video via CSN Chicago).
The follow-up question: Anyone in particular he feels "plays a little bit outside of their shoes?"
Carcillo mentioned uber-pest Max Lapierre, rugged winger Tanner Glass and hard-checking Raffi Torres.
"Lapierre's at the top of the list, through," said Carcillo, immediately becoming the most popular man in Chicago and Boston for a moment.
Here's Carcillo on the Canucks:
(Of course, this is by default, seeing as Glass is now in Winnipeg and Torres is in Phoenix next season. Carbomb's clearly up on his current events.)
Meanwhile, Carcillo solved the mystery of his second-oddest appearance of the summer (along with his appearance as a member of the Blackhawks): How his jersey ended up in the office of Scott Caan's character on HBO's "Entourage."
"Yeah, me and Kevin Connolly ["E" on "Entourage"] are kind of close friends and he asked me to send him a jersey. If they were still filming, I would have sent them a Chicago one, but it was a few months ago," he said.
"It is what it is."
Well, consider it a happy accident: Considering Caan and Connolly's characters are supposed to be frenemies, it's only appropriate the former has a Flyers sweater and the latter is a New York Islanders fan.