Justin Williams Interview

Sponsored by the North Carolina Army National Guard. Aired by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and this station. Your one stop shop for sports talk. This is The Drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. That was the voice of Chuck Caton, who from 1979, when the Hartford Whalers joined the NHL, was the voice of the Canes leading up till, I think it was two seasons ago, 2018-2019, so two years ago. I used all of that as a setup to get to Justin Williams, who is Mr. Game 7, had the clinching goal 14 years ago today to give North Carolina its first major professional sports championship.

Justin is now with us. You've been on a number of championship teams, Justin, but what separates that group with some hindsight now from the Kings teams that you won with? Well, I mean, it's not really what sets them apart.

I think the question is what makes them similar. And I think the answer to that is just caring, obviously. You always work harder for the guys you care about.

That's what it is. And then when you go on a journey of eight, nine, hopefully 10 months of seeing each other day in and day out, you develop that. So you play your heart out and you enjoy the time that you have with the guys.

And obviously you're going to have a lot of talent too, which a lot of those teams did. What do you remember about how you celebrated that night? The night in 2006? Oh yeah. Is that right? Yeah, yeah.

2006. Yeah. Unfortunately, not very much. Or maybe fortunately very much.

Yeah, unfortunately very much. But I mean, when you win, you always win with the people you care. That's what's important. Just being there and being there with the people who are supporting you your whole life.

And that's really what's important. That's really what I remember. Where did you take the Stanley Cup the first time? The first time I won the Stanley Cup, I took it to my hometown of Coburg.

I think when you win the Cup, you're really naive in the fact that you think you're going to win it every year. You're going to be back there every year. Unfortunately for me, I was able to get back there. But, you know, the people call me.

No problem. Justin Williams with us here, Carolina Hurricanes forward, Mr. Game 7, talking about where the Stanley Cup went in Coburg and your hometown. Yeah, so when I was in Coburg, I took it back. And, you know, I actually the first time I had a golf tournament. And I was able to fortunately get the Cup during that golf tournament. And the golf tournament was for charity for one of the local hospitals. It was all great. And there was a big lineup of people. And really, your day with the Cup really isn't for you. It's for everybody else. You spend the day just trying to visit as many people as you can. Because when you see people, when they see that trophy, it's an instant smile that comes onto their face. And that's pretty awesome to see.

And every time you want it, you're exhausted by the end. But, you know, usually you've put a lot of smiles on a lot of people's faces and celebrated with obviously the people you care about. Are you becoming mentally prepared for hockey with training camp about three weeks away? Or is it difficult to do so without knowing much about the when and where the playoffs will begin? I think it's very difficult. But, you know, when you look back and at the same time here, we're all professionals. Is playing in front of no fans going to be great?

No, it's not. But we're all going to have to adapt. Is playing in one city, you know, away from your families going to be great?

No, probably not. But we're all going to adapt. We're all going to be fine. We're all going to crown a Stanley Cup champion and nothing else is going to be said about that. It's going to be earned. It's going to be competitive. It's going to be a little different, yes.

But all in all, it's going to be quite an experience. Justin Williams with us here on Sports Hub Triad. And I want to close with this. Sunday is Father's Day. And I remember reading that your son, Jackson, wants to follow in your footsteps as a hockey player.

I think he's maybe 9, 10 or 11 depending on when that story was published. Also, there was a great shot I was describing when you were announced to be the Consmite Trophy winner at L.A. They panned to your dad who was wearing an old school King sweater and he just seemed so demonstratively pleased that you were recognized with that honor. So how much has this game been a connecting point between you and your children and you and your dad with Father's Day kind of being in mind going into Sunday? Yeah, I think anybody who is a parent and their child enjoys competitive sports, you're so nervous for them, right? And I'm kind of getting that first hand now, you know, watching your son play baseball or watching your son play hockey or play any sport competitively, you get nervous for them. So, you know, my son Jackson, he's 11 now. He'll be 12 real soon. Watching him play is nerve wracking because I have no impact.

I can't do anything about what he does out there. But when I'm playing on the ice, everyone says they're nervous for me, but I feel in control. And when you're watching your kid, you're just nervous. You hope they do well.

You hope they do best. And it's been a really good connecting point with my son Jackson. And it was a really good connecting point with my father as well. Just seeing your child succeed is really something that's special and dear to me.

I was about to say, with that experience now as a dad not having that control, what do you think you put your dad through? I mean, if you're watching Jackson one day compete in the Stanley Cup final, I mean, how crazy or nerve wracking would that be? Yeah, I've always loved when you're watching a sporting event and they panned to the parents in the stands or the friends in the stands or the girlfriend in the stands or anybody in the stands. And you can just see them how nervous. You can see the expression on their face.

And I don't know. I mean, I'm just glad he's not a goalie because that's even more pressure. So, you know, I'm enjoying these times. I'm enjoying new sports, you know, watching your kids grow. And that's part of the process. Well, Justin, you authored a historic moment in the state of North Carolina, the first and only major professional sports championship that this state has ever seen.

You had the empty net goal that it all became real when you netted it 14 years ago today. The time is appreciated in the triad, Justin. Best of luck when things restart. Thank you. And I hope they do restart real soon. And the plan is to get another one for this for this state. So hopefully we can do that soon and get back to plan because Lord knows we want to play and I'm sure people want to watch it. Right on. That's Justin Williams. He's on Twitter at Justin Williams right there with them, hoping that things can get restarted sometime soon. In the spirit of that Cup win, I'll list off the five most important games in North Carolina sports history next on the drive.