Randy Houle

Houle has been around a bit longer than many hockey/ice-related people tend to be listed under, but I recently interviewed him about his new-found love, and how his hockey-related passion became a new career -- as a freelance hockey writer and managing editor for Pro Hockey Talk.

Speaking of writing, you also do some freelance NHL draft coverage here on Pro Hockey Talk.

Here are some questions and answers from an interview with Randy Houle.

PHT: Talked to you in early spring about a few things I've been meaning to mention that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to say (due to the short deadline). First of all, I feel your community fits well with what I do, as you guys value what each other does better than anything else. I would say that thanks to the community is evident as well across the entire community in regards to the tone and the diversity. I feel comfortable sharing what I'm up to thanks to the people I've gotten to know through the hockey/ice community on a regular basis, so that's a good thing.

As for the callowness, I've been doing a good bit of the sports talk, or, I should say, the mainstream sports talk, since I've been in the business. I have also written some reviews of NBA basketball over the years, so I have been covering some of those guys. I'm trying to get better at most types of hockey coverage as well, including the NHL Draft. I know I'll have to give it a lot of thought.

Randy: Thank you so much for the opportunity, PHT! It's really been an honor.

PHT: At the end of the NHL draft, someone asked me why the "midseason meltdowns" in the league are treated as a big deal, as if it had been a Super Bowl or even a big game. I asked my Twitter follower if he could guess what kind of hockey the league would have in store for the end of the season, and he suggested you'd likely get one of:

"A mini-elimination game," I thought to myself.

I've covered a few pro hockey games before, and I have to say it's rare that you get the fan interaction that you get during a game, but I have to say, I can see that happening.