Beyond the crease: North Stars’ Claydon shares his interests and ambitions

“If you’re having a bad day, they’re going to see that, and you’ve just got to put your best foot forward whenever you walk in the house.”

He notices that influence when coaching young players, too.

“Even when I coach kids on the ice, it’s the little things you really notice,” Claydon said. “So, you try to stay on your best behaviour.”

His own introduction to goaltending came from watching Zach.

“I hate to give him credit, but my brother was a goalie. I saw him play a little bit and thought, ‘I’ll give it a try.’ Then I got in there and really liked it.”

Sharing a position meant Claydon could initially use his brother’s hand-me-down equipment. It also gave him someone to measure himself against.

“You want to be better than your brother, so that’s what I think kind of pushed me a little bit,” he said. “It was like, I want to play in the same position. I’m going to try my best to be better.”

His father helped shape other interests, including fishing, hunting and a possible career after hockey.

Claydon mainly fishes for salmon and takes a fishing trip each summer to his girlfriend’s fishing spot. Hunting with his dad is harder to fit around the hockey schedule.

“It kind of sucks that I’ve been away a lot and hunting is mainly during hockey season, so I can’t be out as much with him,” he said. “But I’m sure when all is done, I’ll be out there a lot with him.”

His father also provided a connection to firefighting. Although his dad completed schooling for the profession before pursuing civil construction, he remained friends with firefighters.

A conversation with one of those friends in Burnaby prompted Claydon to explore the career himself.

“I went and did a fire hall visit with them, met everybody who was there and got to learn a lot about their day-to-day — what they do, what it takes to be a firefighter and the dedication.”

At home, Claydon enjoys trying recipes that balance healthy eating with good flavour, although he admits a sweet tooth sometimes takes over. Cheesecake is a favourite, and he said he orders it whenever he spots it on a restaurant menu.

Asked what he would cook for his teammates, he already had the meal planned.

“I’m really good on the grill, so I’m getting some steaks going. I’m getting some ribeyes going, loaded baked potatoes with all the fixings and some type of salad — Caesar salad or garden salad — to add some greens,” he said.

“But a good medium-rare steak is where I go.”

Before hockey became his main focus, Claydon also played lacrosse, following another family connection: his dad played the sport back home.

Unlike in hockey, Claydon played out of the net.

“I think I liked it because I got to go out and hit some people and score some goals, which obviously I don’t do as a goalie,” he said, before leaving open the possibility of scoring on the ice.

“No goals yet.”

Claydon said his time playing lacrosse ended after the pandemic hit in 2020.

“The hockey rink stayed open, but the lacrosse kind of just fizzled away, and I never really got back into it,” he said. “But it’s a great sport. I have a lot of friends that play it and I love watching it.”

He also follows basketball and has developed an interest in football, with hopes of attending a Seattle Seahawks game when he returns home.

When he wants a break from sports, Claydon turns to movies and television. He is currently watching The Mentalist, while Suits is his favourite series.

Will Ferrell tops his list of actors, with Step Brothers his go-to movie and Elf a Christmas favourite.

For now, though, his focus is on helping the North Stars put their game together — with some energy from the stands.

“We’ve got good coaches, good players. We just need fans to keep coming and making some noise and bringing some energy because that really helps us out.”

Claydon and the North Stars visit the Warman Wolverines on Saturday.

For more Battlefords North Stars player profiles, see below.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

Beyond the crease: North Stars’ Claydon shares his interests and ambitions

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