When you're a young defenseman without even a full season of experience yet in the NHL, the notion of facing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the first time could be pretty daunting. To Dalton Prout, though, it's a way to see how your evolving NHL game matches up to the league's best.
"Yeah, I think the best competition brings the best out in yourself," he said. "It's definitely a challenge, and you just see where you measure up against the best teams in the league. You have to have confidence in yourself that you can do the job out there."
And now, after the tough 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh Friday, Prout gets to face those world-class forwards and the rest of the high-flying Penguins twice in 24 hours. He says that's a plus.
"It's good for me because you don't have to go through a new game plan going into the second game. This weekend is a six-period game rather than a three-period. There are just going to be minor adjustments, but you're not going to open up a whole new book for tonight's game. I think it's an advantage for defensemen especially."
Prout made an immediate impact last season for Columbus, literally stepping from a cab right into the NHL for a game in Chicago, a game he didn't enter until midway through the first period because of travel issues. From that point on, he was pretty much rock-solid on the Blue Jackets blue line and finished the season as the team's plus-minus leader at +15. He's quick to give Fedor Tyutin, his defensive partner for most of the past two seasons, a lot of the credit.
"He doesn't talk a lot out there, but he talks when he has to and it really helps me out," Prout explained. "And when you see the poise he has throughout the game – he never gets too high or too low – as a young guy, it's something to look up to and something that's almost a sense of calming.
"When you look over at him, he stays the same through the highs and lows of a game," he continued. "When we score, he says, 'Good job,' and if we get scored on, he says, 'Hey, we'll get it back, no problem.' He stays on an even keel, and it helps me."
Aside from spending this first weekend of November trying to contain the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, and Dupuis, Prout is also one of the Blue Jackets players who has the opportunity to spend it with his dad. The organization is hosting the players' dads this weekend, a trip that includes being part of everything the players experience. From flying on the team plane to being present for locker room interviews and team meetings, the dads have the ultimate "peek behind the NHL curtain." And it's something special for Dalton Prout.
"This weekend reminds you again about all the sacrifices your dad made to help you succeed," he said. "They always put themselves second so that you could continue to pursue your dream. This weekend, they can see everything we do and everything that goes into a game at this level, and we enjoy it as much as they do. To share this experience is priceless."
No doubt the dads are feeling the same way and hoping this priceless weekend ends with a Blue Jackets victory over the Penguins in the home-and-home rematch. That would make the memories, not to mention the collective trips back home, even sweeter.
