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/ Men's Hockey
The Man and the Mustache
12/6/2018 4:52:00 PM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ask anyone close to the Gopher Hockey program who has the best facial hair on the team at the moment, and you'll only get one answer -- senior forward and assistant captain Jack Ramsey.
A native of Chanhassen, Minn., Ramsey and his mustache have earned high praise over the last month as the Chicago Blackhawks prospect heads into the home stretch of his collegiate career with the Maroon & Gold.
GopherSports.com caught up with Ramsey to talk about his mustache, his baseball career and his love for the outdoors.
Your mustache has gotten a lot of attention on social media over the last month. Can you give us a little insight into the origins of your mustache and how you feel about where you're at with it?
I have mixed emotions. I've thought about shaving it in October and then again a couple weeks ago…it's been awhile since I've shaved. But now we're getting closer to Christmas, so I might pester my mom and see if she'll cough up a few more gifts to get me to shave. She was throwing around some cash over Thanksgiving, but I didn't cave.
Did you have something in mind when you started growing the mustache or does it have a mind of its own?
It does what it wants really. It's gotten to the point where it's long enough that it can curl without having anything in it. But at the same time, if I have a little extra hair gel on my hands after doing my hair, I'll still throw it in there.
Your family's hockey history and ties to the University of Minnesota are pretty well established (Ramsey's father and sister both played hockey at the 'U'). One thing we've never heard about from you is how you actually started playing hockey. Is there a good story there?
We moved around a bit when I was younger because my dad was still playing and then coaching, but I think the first time I ever got on the ice was at Joe Louis Arena. I have some neat pictures of me getting pushed around on skates. My parents never pushed any sport on me – they gave me the option to do what I wanted to do. I think I was in eighth or ninth grade when I stopped playing baseball to focus on hockey…looking at where I'm at now I think I made the right decision.
What kind of a baseball player were you?
Since I'm a lefty, I was usually a pitcher or first basemen. One of my buddy's brothers actually had a lefty catcher's mitt, so I kind of fell in love with that…I was a pretty good catcher. I wasn't very good at reading balls in the outfield, so they usually kept me in the infield. I didn't hit with a lot of power, but I'd outhustle balls to first base a ton.
Outside of hockey and school, you're probably most well-known for your love of the outdoors. How did you get into that?
I've always been into the outdoors since I was a kid. I've always been into fishing – my dad and grandfather taught me growing up. Then when my dad retired from hockey, he got into hunting. I'm blessed that that's something he's passed along and shared with me. We have a really good time teaching each other new things now.
Do you have a dream hunting or fishing trip?
That's a tough question. I have a lot of lofty dreams for hunting and fishing…a lot of them include trying things I don't know how to do yet. I think one of my dreams would be going up to Alaska or Canada and doing like a two-week moose hunt.
A native of Chanhassen, Minn., Ramsey and his mustache have earned high praise over the last month as the Chicago Blackhawks prospect heads into the home stretch of his collegiate career with the Maroon & Gold.
GopherSports.com caught up with Ramsey to talk about his mustache, his baseball career and his love for the outdoors.
Your mustache has gotten a lot of attention on social media over the last month. Can you give us a little insight into the origins of your mustache and how you feel about where you're at with it?
I have mixed emotions. I've thought about shaving it in October and then again a couple weeks ago…it's been awhile since I've shaved. But now we're getting closer to Christmas, so I might pester my mom and see if she'll cough up a few more gifts to get me to shave. She was throwing around some cash over Thanksgiving, but I didn't cave.
Did you have something in mind when you started growing the mustache or does it have a mind of its own?
It does what it wants really. It's gotten to the point where it's long enough that it can curl without having anything in it. But at the same time, if I have a little extra hair gel on my hands after doing my hair, I'll still throw it in there.
Your family's hockey history and ties to the University of Minnesota are pretty well established (Ramsey's father and sister both played hockey at the 'U'). One thing we've never heard about from you is how you actually started playing hockey. Is there a good story there?
We moved around a bit when I was younger because my dad was still playing and then coaching, but I think the first time I ever got on the ice was at Joe Louis Arena. I have some neat pictures of me getting pushed around on skates. My parents never pushed any sport on me – they gave me the option to do what I wanted to do. I think I was in eighth or ninth grade when I stopped playing baseball to focus on hockey…looking at where I'm at now I think I made the right decision.
What kind of a baseball player were you?
Since I'm a lefty, I was usually a pitcher or first basemen. One of my buddy's brothers actually had a lefty catcher's mitt, so I kind of fell in love with that…I was a pretty good catcher. I wasn't very good at reading balls in the outfield, so they usually kept me in the infield. I didn't hit with a lot of power, but I'd outhustle balls to first base a ton.
Outside of hockey and school, you're probably most well-known for your love of the outdoors. How did you get into that?
I've always been into the outdoors since I was a kid. I've always been into fishing – my dad and grandfather taught me growing up. Then when my dad retired from hockey, he got into hunting. I'm blessed that that's something he's passed along and shared with me. We have a really good time teaching each other new things now.
Do you have a dream hunting or fishing trip?
That's a tough question. I have a lot of lofty dreams for hunting and fishing…a lot of them include trying things I don't know how to do yet. I think one of my dreams would be going up to Alaska or Canada and doing like a two-week moose hunt.
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