First off, his last name is pronounced “Gee-tay,” not a word that rhymes with “kite” — as at least one NHL public-address announcer called it last season.
Although he is the son of a former pro hockey player, Ben Guite did not take the quick route to the NHL. He played four years at the University of Maine, then six more years in the minor leagues before playing his first game, with the Boston Bruins, in 2005-06. After another year mostly in the minors, Guite got a call-up from the Avalanche midway through the 2006-07 season and has since become the team’s fourth-line center.
After a morning skate one day last week in Calgary, Alberta, Guite took some time out to chat with Post hockey writer Adrian Dater.
Q: Let’s say we went back in time and you’re 5 or 6 years old again. What were you likely to be doing right now?
A: I just wanted to be outside playing sports. Life was pretty simple. I lived in Lasalle (a suburb of Montreal) and I would just bug my dad all the time to go outside and play hockey.
Q: Your father, Pierre, played in the old World Hockey Association. Did he push you into the game?
A: No, not at all. He actually didn’t really want me to play hockey at an early age. But he realized he couldn’t keep me off the ice, or the street playing it. But he always just said to make sure I had my education.
Q: Is that why you went to college?
A: Absolutely. I wanted to go play juniors like everybody else. But he had gone to the University of Pennsylvania, and went to the Wharton School (of Business) for a year. So, he really pushed me to get a college education too.
Q: Did you meet any famous players as a kid?
A: Yeah. I actually have a great picture of me being held in Wayne Gretzky’s arms. My dad played with Gretzky his first year in the WHA in Edmonton, and when they came to Montreal he brought me and my sister into the locker room. Gretzky took my sister in one arm and me in the other, and I had no idea who this guy was. I was 4 or 5 at the time, and I was pushing him away and crying. I also got to meet Patrick Roy as a kid. I was a pretty lucky kid.
Q: What’s Maine like?
A: I love Maine. I met my wife there, at school. We went out for eight years before I popped the question. I guess you can call me slow. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day, and we went to Bangor for dinner, then a play.
Q: Did you have some of that good Maine lobster?
A: No. I don’t think I could afford that then.
Q: What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
A: A lot of people get surprised when I tell them I’m only one course away from my master’s degree in business. A lot of people don’t usually associate hockey players with them.
Q: What’s on your iPod right now?
A: I just started to get into country right now. I listen to that 98.5 station (KYGO) a lot. I like the modern country, like Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith. Anything I can sing along with.
Q: We won’t hold this against you.
A: (Laughs)
Q: Why do French-Canadians speak both English and French so often, but most English Canadians (and Americans) don’t speak French?
A: In Montreal, it’s kind of a necessity that you speak both. If you live in Montreal and you don’t speak French, it’s a lot tougher to get a job.
