Position: Goaltender

Ht./Wt.: 6-1, 210

Age: 28

Hometown: Whitesboro, N.Y.

Nicknames: Chico, Eschie

Family: Wife, Kelly; daughter, Ashlynne Mae, son, Waylon

NHL experience: Seventh in NHL, third with Flyers

Acquired: June 12, 2002, from Phoenix, with Michal Handzus, for Brian Boucher and second-round pick in 2002.

Q: Growing up what was your first job?

A: Taco Bell.

Q: What did you do there?

A: Made tacos.

Q: Did you ever work the window?

A: I worked the cash register. I don't know if I ever wore the headpiece. I was there for like a month and a half.

Q: Did you eat a lot of tacos?

A: No.

Q: I understand you're country guy. When did you first get into music?

A: I always loved singing. When I was in school I was an altar boy and I ended up being in the choir. My father, being on the road as a truck driver, would bring home Waylon Jennings, Hank (Williams) Jr., Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. All those guys would be playing in our house on Sundays on the country countdowns.

Q: When did you start playing hockey?

A: I was 11 when I started playing and I started playing goalie when I was 12.

Q: Did you play any other sports?

A: All of them. I loved football, my favorite sport.

Q: What position?

A: Quarterback and linebacker. In baseball I started off on first base, then I played pitcher and catcher. I played tennis and a couple years of basketball in grade school.

Q: A point guard?

A: No, a center.

Q: You were a center?

A: Yeah, I was tall in elementary school.

Q: When was the first time you picked up a guitar?

A: It's a funny story. I was 16 years old playing in junior and some girl gave me a guitar. It was a Fender Stratocaster, like a $400 or $500 guitar.

Q: Who are some famous people you've met since you've been in the NHL?

A: I've met a lot. You know what, though? None that I really cared to meet except for Waylon Jennings and Kid Rock. I met Waylon Jennings and he died the next year. He and Hank Jr. were the original guys on my helmet and I really, really, really liked him. It's so scary when you meet a guy that you grew up idolizing and I grew up idolizing Hank Jr. and Waylon Jennings. I grew up listening to them as a little kid. When you meet somebody like that it's really intimidating. What happens if he turns out to be an idiot?

Q: How did it go?

A: As soon as you meet somebody you can tell if you like the person or not. When I met Waylon Jennings it was instantaneous. It was a great connection. I was in Phoenix and he had just come out of the hospital two or three days earlier with a minor stroke and he was in a wheelchair and he came to meet me and stay for the game. He was terrific.

Q: What was it about Waylon Jennings' music that you liked so much?

A: I love his lyrics. I believe I'm a very complex person and a lot of people sometimes don't understand me. I've got a million thoughts going on in my head and people misconstrue that as being moody. I'm over-thinking sometimes. I've always said I could live out my life through Waylon Jennings songs, that you could understand me through his music. He's got hundreds of songs and I know them all. I play them on the guitar. The peaks and valleys in my life kind of mirror his a little bit.

Q: Any favorite NHL arenas?

A: I love Nashville. That will always be one of my favorite visiting arenas.

Q: Is it the arena, or is it the fact it's Nashville?

A: It's Nashville, mostly.

Q: What's the funniest thing you've seen happen on or off the ice?

A: I'll keep the player's name out of it, but a few years ago when I was in Phoenix a teammate was getting mouthy with us. So I had a buddy of mine come in and jack his car up and take his tires off.

Q: Ever think about what you might do when you retire from hockey?

A: I'll be singing songs down in Nashville. I don't know. I've got a great foundation (Save of the Day) that raises more than a quarter million dollars every year and I'd like to see that grow. I know I want to own a roadhouse bar and restaurant back home. But for right now, my whole life is consumed with hockey, my family and my foundation. Those are the three things that I really focus on the most. -- Chuck Gormley