While the NHL continues its break in play due to the ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, 'Players on Pause' catches up with different Coyotes players to see how they're spending their time.
Christian Fischer is in the midst of his fourth season with the Coyotes, and through 56 games this year, the 6'2", 214 lbs. 2015 draftee has put up nine points (6G, 3A) while stabilizing the team's forward depth corps.
He, like everyone else, has been taking the pause in stride.
"It's definitely been weird, obviously something that no one's really gone through," he said. "I think the first thing everyone's been focused on is the safety and being healthy, that's obviously first and foremost, and that's why we're taking these precautions."
Fischer, who turns 23 in mid-April, has spent his time living with his housemate, Clayton Keller, during the hiatus.
"We've just been adapting, but there's a couple hundred players going through the same thing, so you just kind of go through it together, find a way to stay safe and keep yourself ready, because we're all hoping that one day this will all go away and we can start playing hockey."
How have you been passing the time?
"There's a lot of hours in the day just sitting at home and self-quarantining, lots of shows and video games, but obviously I've been trying to keep myself in shape, trying some new cooking, stuff like that. Keeping the body active, working out."
Are there any particular TV Shows or Movies you're binge watching?
"I just finished 'Tiger King' on Netflix, that's one of the weirdest shows I've ever watched in my life, I don't even know if I recommend it, but it's good entertainment. Once this whole situation came about I knew there was going to be a lot of time to kill, so I just started watching 'Lost', I've never watched that show but obviously I've heard all about it throughout my whole life, so I thought I'd give it a go, I think I'm six or seven episodes in, and that seems to be the show here to hammer out."
Any books you're reading?
"Unfortunately, I'm not a reader, it's not really my cup of tea. I'm more of a TV and movie and video game guy. I do have a couple of books laying around the house, and depending on how long this goes, I may have to crack in there and sharpen up my brain. 'The Glass Castle', I believe it's called, I got it many years ago and I've been waiting to read it, so that would be the first one."
As far as video games, have you been playing any to stay entertained?
"I'm more of a 'Call of Duty' guy, so I've been playing a lot of that. We have a lot of young guys on the team that like to play Xbox, so that's always fun, especially when we're away from each other, to just go online and chirp each other and play."
What's life been like having more time to spend at home?
"It's been good, obviously [my girlfriend] is used to that crazy schedule of me leaving and coming back, different things, so she likes me being home, not traveling. It's been good, it's been nice, I can imagine it would get boring if I'd be in my house by myself and doing nothing, so it's nice to have company, do some puzzles, play some trivia, I'm always finding games, we've been playing 'Sorry!' and 'Monopoly' and all that type of stuff, it's been fun."
Have there been challenges to staying in shape? What have you been doing to stay conditioned?
"Me and [Clayton Keller] live together, so we've just been waking up in the morning and getting a couple workouts in. Our trainers have been texting us stuff to do to stay in shape, we've been doing a lot of stuff around the house, we have a pretty big backyard, just anything to stay active, some days are heavier than others, so we've been doing that. We've also found a field and some stairs to run out by our house, it's nice, no one's ever there, you don't want to just be sitting in your house all day for 12 hours."
Have you taken up any new cooking skills during this time? What have you focused on diet-wise?
"I think when we're not skating, obviously that burns a lot of calories, so you're eating more during the year in a regular setting, just eating clean and making sure you're eating the right things. If you're not moving around as much you don't want to be eating as much, no heavy carbs or bad fats, stuff like that. We've been messing around with some smoothie recipes, some types of juices in the morning. During the year we're spoiled with having all of the food at the rink, but it's nice to hop in the kitchen and whip something up and think I'm something else. I don't really know the reviews on it, only I'm eating it, but so far I'm giving myself two Michelin stars."
What steps have you been taking to stay safe and healthy? Any particular message you'd like to pass along to fans?
"The biggest thing is washing your hands, even if it's being crazy about it, you don't realize how many germs people are touching, so it's just about washing your hands, keeping your health up. The message would be to do the same thing, and if you're feeling sick or anything to reach out, this is happening to everyone. It's not the end of the world, there's no reason to keep this thing going, the only way we're going to keep this going is if we don't listen to each other or aren't being safe. Just be safe, reach out if you have questions, say something if you're sick. The more we're with this together doing the proper steps, the sooner this will all go away."