Getting to Know: Jets center Alexander Burmistrov

Jets center Alexander Burmistrov talks about his most embarrassing loss -- a quarterfinal upset at the world juniors.

Status: Winnipeg Jets center.

HT: 6-1 WT: 180 pounds

DOB: October 21, 1991 In: Kazan, Russia

First Hockey Memory: "Like professional or young hockey? (Anything as a kid.) I don't know, that's a tough one...maybe...maybe first goal. First time going on the ice with my dad, my mom. Probably that one. First time I stepped on ice."

Hockey Inspirations: "My dad used to play hockey. My older brother used to play hockey. I love how great the sport is."

Last Book Read: "I don't remember. I'm not a big reader."

Current Car: "My own car is a G wagon Mercedes."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Probably winning the World Championships, gold in the World Championships, yeah."

Most Painful Moment: "Hmmm... that's a couple of them...Under 18s in the final and we lost OHL final."

Favorite Uniforms: "Old style Vancouver. Old style Anaheim."

Favorite Rinks To Play: "I'll say Chicago."

Why Do You Love Playing Hockey: "I grew up playing hockey and this is like the thing I love to do, work here and this is one of the those things when you go to work and you love."

Most Memorable Goal: "First NHL goal."

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "Embarrassing memory...yep...we lost to Switzerland in the under-20 world juniors. Quarterfinal. That was embarrassing."

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Soccer. Football. Soccer [smiles]."

Three Athletes You Like To Watch & Follow: "(Lionel) Messi. Neymar. And probably (Cristiano) Ronaldo."

First Famous Player You Met or Encountered: "I met a lot of professional players when I was younger. My dad used to play. Sometimes we'd just go to dinner with them after the game. (Names?) Oh, you probably wouldn't know them."

Funniest Players Encountered: "(Chris) Thorburn and (Eric) Boulton."

Strangest Game: "My first NHL game. (Ondrej) Pavelec passed out. Just out cold [smiles]."

Personality Qualities Most Admired: "Probably I'll say first thing for me is be honest. I don't like when people say something to you and go other way and say different things the other way. (Two more qualities?) Funny. You gotta be funny. Nice guy."

Mark "Scoop" Malinowski is the author of tennis books "Facing Federer" and "Facing Hewitt" which are available at amazon. He's currently working on "Facing Probert."