Without skates on, he's still an imposing figure standing 6'3" and weighing in at 222 pounds. To the uninitiated, he looks like a big farm boy from Canada that could pound nails with his fists and throw a bale of hay with one hand.
But the fact of the matter is that Dalton Prout is one of the nicest, soft-spoken people you could ever meet. He's thoughtful with his responses to questions and goes about trying to make himself better every day.
He always has time for kids, and his face lights up when he's around them, with a large smile spreading across his face.
But still, those that don't know him might feel a bit intimidated by him. Like many other hockey players, he's nice until it's time to not be nice. When the gloves come off, you had better know who you are preparing to dance with. Milan Lucic, of the Boston Bruins, learned this little life lesson the hard way on November 21
Playing in his fourth season in the NHL, Prout has been engaged in a grand total of 11 fights at this level. Of those 11 fights, the most memorable was the one that happened in Columbus on that Friday night in November at the end of overtime. It consisted of two hits; Prout hit Lucic and Lucic hit the ice.
"I box in the summer just because I like to do it. I've done it since my third year of junior (2007-08). I was in my gym and there was this old guy teaching a boxing class. So I asked him if I could join in. He was a really good guy and did a lot of one-on-one training with me. It was a great way to get a different workout."
Lucic claims to have been in over 100 fights and said that he never took a shot like that. The next day, he called Prout "gutless", which is the pot calling the kettle black, coming from Lucic. Discretion is the better part of valor and if he had done some homework, he would have seen that Prout has been boxing for seven years.
With the Bruins visiting the Blue Jackets on Saturday, Lucic has hinted at a payback. After getting dropped like a bad habit, he might want to think twice about that. Prout has his routine for every game to get him in the frame of mind of playing with a chip on his shoulder.
"I think everybody has to find ways to bring the best out in their game. I think when you get engaged in the game, get some hits early, maybe get some adrenaline going... then the 'thinking' is taken out of the game and you just play. That's how I play my best game. In the end, it will help the team and it's just what I've got to do."
Prout goes on to explain what gets him all fired-up prior to the start of a game.
What gets you fired up prior to a game: "I think it's the scenery of being in the dressing room and having that social responsibility of looking at your teammates and saying 'I'm going to do whatever I can to help this team win'. Whether you want to say it's a game face or for some guys it's just lacing up the skates."
"You kind of have two personalities. But, it's just putting your game face on to do whatever it takes to win. Some guys play the exact same when that they are off the ice and some guys are completely different. I think it has a lot to do with your role on the team."
He came into camp with more muscle and was a bit faster on his skates. Last year he played in only 49 games, mostly due to injury. But now he is healthy and has been playing with many of the same teammates on the blue line for a few years. That familiarity with each other adds to his confidence.
"I think it does, one hundred percent. It's easier for us and it's easier for the coaches because you can flip-flop pairings because there is some familiarity there."
With all of the adversity that befallen the Blue Jackets this season, from myriad injuries to two separate losing streaks, he still has the belief that they can turn their season around for the better. His teammates have that belief in themselves and each other, also.
"It's getting contributions from everybody. It comes from leadership and coaches. I also think it comes from everybody looking in the mirror and thinking about how they have to better. Individually, we all know we've done it before. So there's an underlying confidence there that we can dig ourselves out of this hole."
As Prout and the rest of the team relax over the next four days to celebrate the Christmas holiday, not far from the back of his mind will be the Bruins coming to town on Saturday. As for Milan Lucic, he might want to remember that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting a different result.
