Chances are you aren’t that familiar with Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jay Harrison, so allow us to bring you up to speed -- he’s 29 years old, a former Maple Leafs draft pick, a one-time member of Swiss league team EV Zug, and a guy Carolina brought on board for next to nothing (he’s making $700k annually.)
This year he’s been a big contributor for the ‘Canes, recording 15 points through 34 games, while leading all defensemen in goals.
He also knows how to jam, man.
Recently, Fox Sports Carolina caught up with Harrison to discuss his off-ice passion -- playing guitar.
Few notes:
-- Harrison notes his love of 90s alternative music and Sirius/XM’s “Lithium” (aka “the flannel channel”). As a regular listener and fellow grunge aficionado, I can confirm that Lithium rules, though it tends to go a little heavy on the Smashing Pumpkins.
-- At the 1:16 mark...does Harrison bust out a Radiohead/"Paranoid Android” riff? I believe he does. That’s pretty good.
-- According to Harrison, San Jose’s Brad Winchester and Buffalo’s Drew Stafford are regarded as the NHL’s premier axe men. Intriguing. I knew about Stafford (he and Ryan Miller once played a charity concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic) but Winchester was a surprise. He’s from Wisconsin, I bet he’s really into the Violent Femmes (admittedly, that’s the only Wisconsin band I know.)
-- Harrison’s really well-spoken. He made it through the entire interview without once saying “f---in rights!” which, based on everything I learned from HBO 24/7, is the most popular expression in the NHL.