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Matt Jones: Take us back to your younger days. Why ice hockey?

Dion Darling: It's the number one sport and the sport we all played back home in Canada when we were younger. It's so cold for seven months of the year that we could always go out and play on the outdoor rinks.

MJ: Did your schoolteachers ever influence your love of sport?

DD: School was good! We always got to go on the outdoor rinks during our lunch hour so that was a very enjoyable part of the school day.

MJ: Have you always been a successful sportsperson?

DD: It generally went hand in hand - if you did well in school, you did well in sport. It's like anything in life. The amount of time you put into something is equal to what you'll reap on the rewards.

MJ: For the people who don't know a lot about ice hockey, can you talk us through what happens out there on the ice?

DD: It's a very competitive sport played on a sheet of ice. The puck can move up to one hundred miles an hour and it's very similar to rugby except that there are so many more dimensions to it. You can hit anybody, there's always constant changing and you can pretty much do anything you want on the ice.

MJ: How important are the fans in getting you psyched up for a game?

DD: The fans in Cardiff are incredible and they play a major part in the sport. They're die hard fans and that really is as much as you can ask for!

MJ: What gives you the motivation to go out there on the ice?

DD: I don't really need any motivation. When I was working back home it was minus 35 degrees Celsius and that's enough motivation for me, especially when I get out of bed and the sun's shining here! I always want to be in the best condition possible and when I go out onto the ice I just want to compete every time. At the end of the day I want to win and since ice hockey is a team sport I never want to let my team mates down. Maybe that's just my competitive nature but that's why I do this. I want to win.

MJ: Discipline plays a huge part in any sport and I'm sure it's hard to keep your head straight during a match when things can get very fiery, but does discipline come easy to you?

DD: Sometimes you can lose focus during a game. Something might happen and there's only so much a person can take before they have to address something. Getting under somebody else's skin is a part of any sport. We always seem to use the term 'snap' when we lose our mind and our discipline but it's one of those things where you have to make sure it doesn't affect the team with the penalty from something like that. Discipline is a huge part of any sport and if you can keep your cool, then that's probably the best thing you can do.

MJ: If you were looking for somebody to be a part of your team, what are the three qualities you would look for in that player?

DD: Somebody who is vocal, somebody who's a leader and the third thing would be to look for somebody who's just a decent all round person. That's all you can ask for - a leader. Somebody who always steps up at pressured situations and when they speak in the room everybody listens. The biggest quality of a leader is that they lead by example and people can respect that.

MJ: What's your greatest achievement in ice hockey?

DD: Jeepers! I'd have to say that my biggest achievement was being drafted. I was drafted in '93 by the Montreal Canadians and that's definitely one of the highlights of my career. It was such an honour to be drafted to a professional ice hockey club.

MJ: What's the key to your success?

DD: The key to my success is family. My family have always been supportive of me and have pushed me along the way. I really learned a lot from my older brother. I could see what he did wrong and I could learn from those mistakes.